“The world needs bold and visionary leaders who can harness the power of innovation for the common good, and who can collaborate across sectors, regions and cultures to create a more peaceful, inclusive, sustainable and resilient future.”
Klaus Schwab, Founder and Chairman, World Economic Forum

The 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the “Summer Davos” hosted by the World Economic Forum, took place in the port city of Tianjin, China in June. The theme this time focused on Entrepreneurship: The Driving Force of the Global Economy.

The QI Group, a Forum Partner of the World Economic Forum was represented at the conference by YK Lee, Group Chief Financial Officer, Ivan Woo, Chief Information Officer, and Winnie Soo, Company Secretary for the Group. They joined around 1500 global participants from business, government, civil society, international organisations and academia in Tianjin after a three-year hiatus of the in-person event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Annual Meeting called for renewed momentum on innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship across geographies. This thrust can revive growth, discover new industry models and partnerships, and set a firm trajectory to a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient global economy. Business leaders and government officials from around the world also shared insights on navigating trade tensions while balancing strategic competition and geopolitical cooperation to manage global challenges.

Leaders discussed the future of jobs in Asia amid geoeconomic shifts, technological disruption and the energy transition. They also shared learnings and good practices to close skills and gender gaps, with an emphasis on the persistent gaps in technology and entrepreneurship.

“Some of my best takeaways from the Meeting were on the topics of artificial intelligence (AI), financial technology and payment solutions. While the underlying message was that entrepreneurship and start-ups would be the catalyst to drive economic growth, AI needs to be incorporated at all levels in the right manner. Data compliance and controls in AI were emphasised, along with data protection. There was much discussion on how to do this in a sustainable way and develop concrete strategies to implement AI across governance, strategic and compliance levels,” shared Ivan

The QI Group marks its 25th year of operations in 2023 and has been a longstanding member of the World Economic Forum for over 10 years. We remain committed to driving the agenda of change, innovation, growth and inclusivity for many more years to come.