What Is the World Economic Forum?

The World Economic Forum is an unofficial international organization with the purpose of studying and exploring problems in the world economy and promoting international economic cooperation and exchanges. Its headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. Its predecessor was the "European Management Forum", which was founded in 1971 by the current chairman of the forum, Professor Klaus Schwab of the University of Geneva.

World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum is based on research and discussion

The World Economic Forum aims to study and discuss problems in the world economy, promote international economic cooperation and exchanges, and work to improve the state of the world through public-private cooperation. ^[2]

As of 2013, the World Economic Forum has four types of members, namely fund members, industry partners, strategic partners and global growth enterprise members. The fund members include about 1,000 top companies worldwide. Among them, more than 100 fund member companies can become forum industry partners or strategic partners according to their participation in the forum activities and contribution to the forum. Global growth companies, or "new leaders", are a new form of membership launched by the World Economic Forum, mainly referring to new multinational companies that are growing fast.

The World Economic Forum Selection Committee evaluates the strength of member companies, which need to be top companies in their industry or country (mainly based on their operating income; financial institutions are based on assets), and can be the future of their industry or region Development plays an important role.

"Industry Partners" come from a wide range of industry sectors, including construction, aviation, technology, tourism, food, engineering and financial services. These companies are highly sensitive to global issues affecting their industry sectors.

Management Committee

The Governing Board is the executive body of the World Economic Forum. It ensures that all activities of the Forum are consistent with the Forum's mission and at the same time externally represent the Forum. The management committee collectively undertakes the implementation responsibilities of the forum and reports to the fund board.

Executive committee

All forum activities are led by the executive. Under the leadership of the founder and executive chairman of the forum, Professor Klaus Schwab, outstanding talents from all walks of life in more than 60 countries around the world came to work in the forum. The depth and experience of this globalization gives the forum the ability to fully support our members' participation in global affairs. ^[11]

China Development

Since 1979, China has maintained a good cooperative relationship with the World Economic Forum. Chinese leaders have attended and addressed the annual meeting several times. From 1992 to 2000,

The economic support of the World Economic Forum comes from its 1,000 foundation members. Member companies need to be international companies with annual revenues of more than $ 5 billion (revenues may vary by industry and region). At the same time, these companies are leaders in their industry or country and play an important role in the future development of the industry or region. Foundation members of the World Economic Forum pay an annual fee to the World Economic Forum as the cost of hosting various meetings and events and operations of the World Economic Forum. Foundation members of the World Economic Forum can choose to be called "industry partners" and "strategic partners" to participate more deeply in the forum's activities and exert its influence.

Forum Annual Meeting

At the end of January each year, the "World Economic Forum Annual Meeting" (that is, the "Winter Davos Forum") is held in Davos, Switzerland. Each annual meeting includes representatives from political, business, academic and media circles from dozens of countries participate. Since 2007, the Forum has held the "New Champions Annual Meeting" (that is, the "Summer Davos Forum") in China every year. It is held by Dalian and Tianjin in turn. The forum also hosts several regional summits each year. ^[2]

The World Economic Forum also serves as a

The influence of the World Economic Forum is, first of all, its role as a "world-class" platform for exchange of ideas and its impact on global public opinion. Since its establishment, the forum has become an important platform for political leaders, business leaders, leaders of international organizations, experts and scholars to exchange views on various major world issues through various conference formats including annual meetings. More importantly, the annual conference in Davos discussed global hot issues or trending issues, which had a significant impact on global public opinion.

The influence of the World Economic Forum is also reflected in its global network of members and relationships. The World Economic Forum is a membership organization with members from more than 1,100 large multinational companies in all regions of the world, including most of the top 500 companies in the world. In addition to the corporate world, the forum has also established extensive networks with political, academic and media executives around the world. ^[16]

On August 16, 2017, Associate Professor Wang Dong from the School of International Relations of Peking University accepted an exclusive interview with the World Economic Forum in Davos to present a Chinese scholar's viewpoint on the confrontation between China and India in Donglang. ^[17]

In an exclusive interview, Wang Dong explained in detail the origin of Dong Lang's confrontation, the broader geographical meaning of Dong Lang's confrontation, and how to resolve the crisis. Wang Dong rejected the Indian side's view that the Indian side's actions were to help Bhutan defend its own territory and that it was based on security concerns. Wang Dong pointed out that none of the provisions in the "India Friendly Treaty" can provide a legitimate basis for India's cross-border intervention. India's invasion of Chinese territory under the pretext of protecting Bhutan's interests not only violated China's sovereignty, but also violated Bhutan's sovereignty and independence. Moreover, India's actions set an extremely bad example for international relations. Does the position of the New Delhi government indicate that China also has the right to intervene on behalf of other countries that have territorial disputes with India? India's attempt to rectify its illegal cross-border violations on the grounds of safety considerations for China's road construction activities is also contrary to international law and the statutes governing international relations. Over the years, India has built a lot of infrastructure on the Sikkim border, including many fortifications and other military facilities, posing a serious threat to China's security. In contrast, China has very little infrastructure built on the side of its own national borders. Does the Indian position indicate that China can also send Chinese border guards into India on the grounds of security considerations, hindering India from building infrastructure?

Wang Dong believes that the nature of Dong Lang's confrontation is clear at a glance: it is caused by the Indian border guards illegally crossing the border into Chinese territory and hindering normal road construction projects in China. "The bell must be tied", and the initiative to resolve this deadlock is still in the hands of India.

Finally, Wang Dong pointed out in an exclusive interview that if India can withdraw people who illegally crossed the border into Chinese territory, it will lay the foundation for both sides to find diplomatic ways to resolve the incident. In addition to government-level negotiations, public diplomatic means such as dialogue between think tanks can also help alleviate tit-for-tat stalemate and send signals to each other, demonstrating a willingness to further ease tensions and resolve disputes. In a sense, the standoff incident is a reflection of the deepening security dilemma between China and India in recent years. In the long run, both China and India need to use political will and wisdom to correctly judge each other's strategic intentions, reverse the deteriorating security dilemma, build a positive and developing China-India relationship in the future, and work together to promote a prosperous and stable multipolar world Make a contribution. ^[17]