Annual Meeting of the New Champions

For a guide to the key themes at the Meeting see The top 5 economics and finance stories at #AMNC16 and 8 things you need to know about China's economy.

This highlights blog will bring you all the key news and views from the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, June 2016.

The Annual Meeting of the New Champions is just getting going and it's time to introduce the co-chairs -- the leaders who are playing a key role in pulling the event together.

Feike Sijbesma is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Managing Board, Royal DSM NV.

Matthew Prince is co-founder and CEO of Cloudfare.

Navdeep Bains is Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

Shjrley Ann Jackson is President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI.) In this interview she talks about the requirements of the university of the future.

Taavet Hinrikus is CEO and Co-Founder, TransferWise. Taavet also founded Skype and has written about lessons learned from his start-ups in this preview of the meeting.

Travis Kalanick is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Uber

One topic inevitably comes up in the opening comments -- #brexit -- Britain's exit from the European Union. The Co-Chairs see it as a negative.

There'll be more on #brexit later today with an issue briefing at 1245 CST but in the mean time here is an analysis of the big questions the UK vote raises.

Here are some highlights from the session on start-ups in Asia, which asks - How are disruptive business models and technology innovations transforming finance in Asia and the world?

Investors put a record $4.5 billion into financial start-ups in Asia last year, four times as much as the previous year. What does the future hold for the industry? How will traditional financial institutions be affected? Fintech companies are shaking up the world of finance, but are they sustainable, and will consumers learn to trust them? Here's some useful background reading from our blog, Agenda:

What does the rise of fintech mean for banking?
How to survive and thrive in the fintech revolution
How should we regulate fintech?

Panel member Taavet Hinrikus knows a thing or two about start-ups - he was the first employee at Skype and, more recently, set up peer-to-peer money transfer service TransferWise. He's also one of the co-chairs of #AMNC16. In this piece, he shares the lessons he's learned while working for these two companies:

A good idea isn’t enough. 3 lessons from building Skype and TransferWise

Chandler Guo, co-founder of Bitbank, believes that in the future global GDP will be based on bitcoin. A straw poll, however, finds that no-one in the audience agrees.

Is there too much regulation on fintech and innovation in general? It's not about too much or too little, says Taavet Hinrikus, it's about applying the right kind of regulation to the industry.

Interestingly, Catherine Wood, the CEO of ARK Investment Management, says the UK currently has the best regulation model, and everyone should look at how they are set up. Regulation isn't a dirty word, she adds, and shouldn't always be thought of as bad.

The fact that governments are even talking about regulation in fintech is a good sign, says Xu Haotian,CEO of Fangcheng Technology, because it shows the industry is now being taking seriously.

Will blockchain become the disruptive force of the financial world in the coming years? This is a topic that was recently discussed on our blog. Here's a piece by UBS' COO, Axel Lehmann:

Why banks shouldn’t fear blockchain

The technology goes beyond digital currencies, says Taavet Hinrikus. In the near future, we'll see blockchain used for a number of other sophisticated products.

Chandler Guo goes one further. He thinks that future generations won't believe in cash, or commodities like gold. People will believe in technology.

Inevitably, the discussion turns to Brexit. Europe has been made less attractive to entrepreneurs, says Taavet Hinrikus. The decision by UK voters to leave the European Union is bad for Britain, but it's also bad for Europe as a whole.

The session ends with a question from our moderator, Channel NewsAsia's Xueling Lin. She asks: "Will traditional financial institutions exist in 10 years time?

Banks aren't going to disappear, says Catherine Wood. Technology will benefit the end user, but won't lead to the downfall of the financial giants.

Tang Ning, Founder and CEO of PXHY Science and Technology, argues that we shouldn't think of fintech as disruptive, but complementary. "Banks are becoming fintech companies themselves," he says.

Taavet Hinrikus, on the other hand, believes banks that haven't invested in technology now won't make it and that more and more technology companies will step in to fill the void.

What does Bitbank founder Chandler Guo think is on the horizon for the finance industry?

"Revolution", he says.

Here's a round-up of what happened in the session Asia's Shifting Alliances, which focused on the forces threatening relationships in the region. These ranged from China’s controversial new Silk Road to rising tensions in the South China Sea.

The debate quickly turned to the US presidential elections and the spectre of a new POTUS in the shape of Donald Trump. How does China feel about it?

“China is very frightened,” said Zhu Feng, from Nanjing University’s China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea. “We don’t know what kind of Trump we’ll have to deal with.”

However, Feng added, it is “unrealistic” to think Trump would restructure US foreign policy completely.
Ian Bremmer, Eurasia Group president, agreed: “You talk to the Chinese leadership now and they say: ‘We want Hillary’,” he said.

For Kil Jeong-Woo of the Korean National Assembly, the concern is that there is no multilateral framework for keeping peace in the Asia region. “The next US president will have to have a deep and balanced understanding of Asia,” he said. He or she should be “supportive of dialogue in the region”.

“The US is mature power; China is not. China is still in transition domestically. It can’t compete with US even for regional dominance,” concluded Feng.

And what of the South China Sea dispute? When it comes to the territorial dispute over the maritime nine-dash line, which threatens to unbalance diplomatic ties between China, the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries also claiming ownership of the waters, Zhu Feng was wary. “China should keep a cool head,” he cautioned.

Read our South China Sea explainer here.

“China is struggling for a good neighbourhood, for a better profile,” he explained. “But how will the US react? It would be a big mistake for the US to overreact, for China to overstretch. It would be very bad for future relations.”

A large part of China’s international relations rests on diplomatic outcomes of the New Silk Road, the revamped trade route between China and its neighbours in the west. “China should be more aggressive in launching the One Belt, One Road initiative,” said Kil Joeng-Woo. “It might be good mechanism for China to demonstrate she is a leading and reliable party to lead growth in the region.”

Asked what were their greatest fears for China’s future, the panellists were united in their concern for China’s slowing economy. As you can see from this chart, the country's GDP isn't in fact falling, simply rising with less propulsion than before.

For Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer, slowing growth was the number one threat to stability in the region. “If China’s slowdown speeds up it might lead to a nationalist backlash. I’m more worried about that than about a Trump presidency,” he said. For China's trading partners, the "level of dependence on China comes with a level of volatility.”

But the slowdown not completely bad news: China could benefit from having time to think strategically. “We need to keep growth at a reasonable growth rate – the debate is to how to do that,” said Feng.

Here's a glimpse into our session on emerging markets, which asks the question: which megatrends will drive emerging market investments?

"Those three global tailwinds are now becoming, since 2013, headwinds," said Nouriel Roubini of New York University.

1. China has had a bumpy landing.

2. The commodity supercyle is mostly over.

On the third point, quantitative easing: "However slowly," said Roubini, "the Fed is done with quantitative easing. And however slowly, is gong to exit zero policy rates.

"Starting with the temper tantrum of 2013," he continued, "money started flowing out of emerging markets."

In the emerging markets session, Nouriel Roubini has warned that Brexit risks the disintegration of the United Kingdom and the European Union. More details in this Reuters story.

Is the revival of corporate-led research helping or hindering scientific progress?

From asteroid mining to Hyperloop transport, companies are promoting futuristic technologies. Here are some highlights from today's Forum discussion about dilemmas in science, technology and innovation.

To set the scene, the below chart shows how much global funding in scientific research comes from the state, and how much comes from the private sector.

So which is the more effective resource environment for innovation: business or state?

“It’s not either or,” says Shirley Ann Jackson, president of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. What really matters is the partnership between the two. “If you look at corporations, they’re large, they have money, data and market knowledge. But universities have people; human capital."

Making the case for the corporate world, Baidu President Ya-Qin Zhang said it was the focus that matters: "We look at things that can be commercialized and we make a bet on that. But it’s rooted in the law of maths and the research from academia."

The underlying theme of the Meeting is the promise of new technologies labelled 'The Fourth Industrial Revolution', and this was discussed in this morning's session, Technology Tipping Points: Digital Ubiquity.

Here's a clip from the session featuring Uber founder Travis Kalanick, who says he's excited - and optimistic - about some of the future technologies that could be coming our way.

Here are the highlights from our G20 session, which asks the question: What are the priorities for China's 2016 presidency of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou in September?

G20 countries represent two-thirds of the world’s population and 85% of its GDP.

With the Hangzou summit only 70 days away, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Baodong set out the agenda for China’s leadership of the G20. Items included strengthening international trade and investment, promoting inclusive development and long-term sustainable growth.

A new way forward

Li began by acknowledging the useful of the G20 to the world. "The G20 is an important platform," he said. "The world looks to it for vision and action that can help the world economy overcome difficulties and lead the way forward."

The key to a successful leadership for China? "Structural reform, development, greater trade and investment. These three areas are where we can achieve success," he said.

A beautiful banquet

Zhang YuYan, Director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics, wants to keep development at the heart of the G20 debate:

"I still want the G20, as one of the most important governance programmes, to be enduring, stable and institutionalized. China has put development issues at the heart of all the discussions at the G20 Summit and this has received popular support from scholars and academia."

He says he wants the G20 Summit to be like a banquet: "delicious and useful".

The United Kingdom's historic decision to leave the European Union is understandably a hot topic at #AMNC16. The issue has cropped up in many of the sessions on day one, with many people wondering:
what are the short-term implications for the markets, the medium-term impact on geopolitics and, long term, what does it mean for the international order?

Here are some highlights from our session on the aftermath of Brexit.

On the panel: Larry Stone, President, Group Public and Government Affairs, BT Group Plc, Ian Bremmer, President, Eurasia Group, Michael Falcon, CEO of Global Investment Management, Asia Pacific, J.P. Morgan, and the Forum's Head of Foundations and Public Engagement, Adrian Monck.

First, some background reading. Former Swedish Prime Minister, Carl Bildt, and Director of Political Relations at Allianz SE, Katinka Barysch, wrote this piece for our blog on the big questions after the vote.

And here's a round of what the experts had to say, plus a look at what the shock result could mean for the British economy.

First up, has the significance of the UK referendum been overhyped, or should we be very afraid?

Ian Bremmer doesn't think we should be afraid, but in terms of seismic events, he does put it in the same category as the US reaction to 9/11 and the recent financial crisis.

"You are talking about the diminishment of the most important alliance in the post-war order, the transatlantic relationship, which was already before Brexit at its weakest since World War Two," he adds.

How will the markets respond?

The markets are focused on what happens next, says Michael Falcon. There has been a great deal of speculation, but we should put the result into perspective - it's a shock, not a crisis. Despite dramatic drops in the pound and global markets in the immediate aftermath, things are now working.

There could be more volatility ahead as the speculation ebbs and flows, Falcon adds. But the UK is a very dynamic and strong economy, with a lot of capabilities, innovation, resources and global resources. It's a global and market orientated economy, and in the long run it'll be okay.

Is it the system that we're part of that has delivered this shock?

Bremmer says yes, along with one other thing. In advanced industrial democracies, the gap between the middle class and elite has grown. When people are treated in a certain way, they'll feel like they need to deliver a shock.

With two-thirds of UK MPs against Brexit, and with almost 3 million signatories to a petition demanding another referendum, is there a way back from where we are now?

Larry Stone says it would be very difficult for the UK not to leave the EU. The relationship could be altered somewhat, and the UK could still have access to the common market, but a true Brexit will be hard to avoid.

The EU is a mess, says Bremmer. For the last seven years of Forum meetings, he argues, many have complained that the only way the bloc tries to solve anything is to kick the can down the road. So there is an argument to be made that if the UK had remained in the bloc, then conditions could have become more challenging.

How has China reacted to Brexit? Constructively, says Bremmer. In the same way that we have seen the Chinese prefer Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump because she is predictable, the Chinese would rather see a stable union than any uncertainty. As a global economic power, weak growth anywhere would affect them.

So, with David Cameron stepping down, who will step in to solve Britain's - and Europe's - emerging political crisis? This, like many things in Europe's future, remains unclear.

China's growth slowdown has captured global attention. For the latest updates, watch this session on China’s economy. There's also this backgrounder on the Chinese economy.

In the meantime, here are some of the highlights.

Xu Shaoshi, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, opened the discussion striking an upbeat tone: “We have pretty good GDP growth, at 6.7%. China’s economy is healthy and stable,” he said.

The country isn’t yet there, he warned. China still needs to “deepen reform and further open up to the outside world”.

One example of how to achieve this is the One Belt One Road initiative, the reopening of the Silk Road trade routes between China and the West. Xu said: “It’s been three years of One Belt One Road. We’ve achieve good results. China’s economic growth was such that the economy now makes up 25% of total global growth.”

You can read more in our New Silk Road explainer.

Feike Sijbesma, DSM chief and foreign investor in China, sees stronger growth just around the corner.

“Why am I still investing so much in China?” he asks. “Because the fundamentals are very good: the growing middle class, urbanization, money, infrastructure – it’s all there.”

Sijbesma likens China’s evolution into a pollution-free and prosperous society to the transformation of his own company, DSM, which started off 150 years ago as a coal business but is now the world’s largest provider of vitamins.

“China is building something from almost nothing,” he said. It’s an exciting time, but success depends on being able to add new competencies, new leadership approaches and a different culture, he says.

One of our last live-streamed sessions of the day is a one-on-one chat with NBA player Jeremy Lin.

Fans of basketball may remember the 'Linsanity' phenomenon of 2012, when the player - the first American of Chinese descent to play in the NBA - led the New York Knicks on an unlikely winning streak. Read more about his life here.

He's now a free agent, and here's here to talk about his journey to the top of the sport, and the opportunity for sports leaders to be role models for the younger generation.

"I'm a zoo animal", says Lin. He's talking about fame, of course, but says that over time he's been able to manage his celebrity status by surrounding himself with the right people and "embracing the platform" that comes with being well-known. Imparting values are important, he adds.

Learning about how some of his fellow players grew up has made the athlete want to do something to help underprivileged children. Basketball, and other sports, is one way to do that, he says.

Lin spent a number of years trying to break into the sport before his famous run in 2012. Linsanity was, he says, a "perfect storm." He remembers how fleeting that success was, and how important it is to appreciate the "grind of the job" and "competing against the best in the world", instead of focusing on what comes next in the career ladder.

His most valuable lesson, he says, came from his high-school coach, who "never thought he knew it all." Lin adds that he tries to "steal" one or two things from the best players he comes up against and learn something everywhere he goes.

Does humility help in ultra-competitive sports, and in life? "I asked myself that question for years", says Lin. The bible teaches us that humility is the greatest strength (Lin is a passionate Christian) but many of the best players are arrogant. The key is to leave it on the court.

And there is a big difference between being humble and being stepped upon, he adds. You can still achieve greatness in a humble way.

Delegates at the World Economic Forum's meeting in China have been discussing what Britain's exit from the EU implies.

As the second day of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions gets going, here are the top 4 stories since we started:

Why is China building a new Silk Road?

Four global leaders on what Brexit really means

South China Sea tensions: what's going on?

Where is the world's most powerful computer?

Here are some more Brexit reactions on social media

The Chinese Premier has opened the Annual Meeting of the New Champions with a set of remarks addressing the global environment and the state of China's economy.

In tune with one of the main talking points so far at the Meeting, the premier has dealt with the issues stemming from Brexit, Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

"A few days ago Britons voted out of the European Union in a referendum. Its impact is already being demonstrated on the international financial markets, and it is adding new uncertainties to the world economy.

"Under such circumstances, to promote world economic recovery and the economic growth of all countries, we need to jointly tackle challenges, strengthen our confidence and create a stable international environment, and find solutions to address the root causes together.

"I want to make it clear that Europe is an important partner for China, and China will continue to be committed to maintaining and growing China-EU relations and China-UK relations. We hope to see a united and stable European Union. We also hope to see a stable and prosperous UK."

The growth slowdown

The premier also addressed the issue of China’s slowing growth, conceding that the national economy had established a “new normal”. High-speed growth is no longer sustainable, given China’s size, he said, and the new pace of growth well within appropriate limits.

On the topic of China’s economy, Li's tone was buoyant: “We have maintained stable economic growth and continue to lead the world’s major economies in growth speed,” he said.

Structural reform is on track, he says, as is the market, service industry, consumption industry, culture, sports and nationwide efforts to counter pollution.

Where did all this optimism come from? “We are always optimistic about China’s economy,” said the premier. “Optimism is a sign of confidence. In a market economy, confidence can guide expectations. It is in itself an important power.”

Adding to China’s good news is the employment rate, which has been stable for the first five months of this year.

“In the urban sector, 5.77 million new jobs were created – 58% of the annual target. Unemployment rate in May was 5.02% in major cities and it has been kept at this level for the past few years.”

But it’s not all improvement and expansion. “Downward pressure on the economy is still mounting,” says Li, though he adds that the fact of facing up to its difficulties reflects positively on the country and its economic future.

The environment got a mention: “We will phase out outdated production capacities, cut capacity in steel and coal industries, adopt strict standards in environmental protection, quality and safety,” he said.

Here are a couple of short video clips of Premier Li Keqiang speaking about Brexit during the Opening Plenary.

Here are a couple of more video highlights from Premier Li Keqiang's opening speech at AMNC16.

In an issue briefing on the gender gap in science, Nasa Deputy Administrator Dava Newman advised women to encourage their younger female colleagues. “Mentoring is critical,” she said. “We have a lot of data on this. Positive reinforcement is what gets young women to the top.”

Marjolein Helder, the scientist who worked out how to produce electricity from plants, agreed: “Women drop out the higher they get up the ladder, because they hate the culture. Well you can do something about that. Stay there. And change the culture.”

Meanwhile, the culture is slowly changing, said Julie Bernhardt: “There’s a generational shift in our sector. Male scientists are starting to want the same flexibility for the same things as female scientists do.”

Meet some of the female scientists who are working on some of the most crucial challenges in our series of interviews.

Key themes in this session are renewables, the role of coal, and the impact of new digital technologies on supply and demand.

All the speakers acknowledge one thing: that China leads the world in renewables.

Here's a short piece that gives you the background and one key chart:

Ian Conn, CEO of Centrica, says that China needs to do two things: 1) Stop burning coal and 2) Open up more to foreign competition to speed innovation. He reminds the audience that a 1% reduction in Chinese coal burning would be worth an 11% increase in renewables as measured by carbon reduction.

Changhua Wu, Director, China, TIR Consulting, says the next five years will be critical for China. The country will have to show progress in three areas: 1) The Paris Agreement, 2) Air quality improvements, 3) A continuation of the revolution in renewable energy. And to achieve all three will require a systemic approach, in particular the use of digital technology.

Gao Jifan, CEO of Trina Solar Ltd, says that carbon targets require a speeding up of renewable energy development and that needs all the stakeholders -- energy companies, technologists, financiers and government to work more closely together.

Director, China, TIR Consulting

Director, China, TIR Consulting

Director, China, TIR Consulting

Director, China, TIR Consulting

Uber founder Travis Kalanick, one of the co-chairs of our meeting in China, sat down for a one-on-one interview on disruptive innovation earlier today.

Like China, Uber has grown very quickly in a short period of time, he says. The country has been one of the most welcoming to disruptive companies, and as long as progress is in harmony with stability, then cities are open to innovation.

What is the biggest problem that Uber is solving? Imagine you are on a skyscraper looking down on Tianjin, he responds. Shouldn’t all the cars down there, with only one person in them, be coordinated?

“Think of the world where there is no ride sharing,” he says. “People are driving themselves to work, let's just say. You now have 30 people being served by 30 cars. Those 30 cars are only served 4% of the day, 96% of the day they're stored somewhere. That takes up 20% to 30% of our land, is just storing these hunks of metal that we drive around for 4% of the day. And so you go, we can do better. So Uber rolls out and it's one car serving 30 people instead of 30 cars.

"And then we do something like Uber Pool where you push a button. Car comes, you open the door, you get in but there's somebody else already in the car because two people are taking the same trip at the same time."

When asked if he thinks people will still own their own cars in 10 years’ time, this was his response:

Self-driving cars featured on our list of top 10 emerging technologies 2016, and Kalanick agrees that there is a future for the technology. Uber is experimenting with autonomous cars in Pittsburgh, albeit with a safety driver in the vehicle in case something goes wrong.

He said: “Google has been working on this for 8 years. And there's a reason. A million people die every year in cars, from human error. People making mistakes when they're driving. And there's tens of millions of people get injured. And then think of the trillions of hours that we spend behind the wheel driving. So there's a huge, huge positive impact for society when driverless cars become a thing.”

A further press briefing has been set up to deal with the interest in Brexit during the Annual Meeting of the New Champions.

The three panelists at the briefing are New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini, Rachel Morarjee of Breaking Views, and Samuel Smiles of UBS.

Nouriel Roubini is asked what advice he would offer a future British PM on how to negotiate with the EU.

"After asking for a divorce I would say that I wanted to patch up," he says."If that's acceptable then I'd put it to a second referendum."

But adds that it will be hard to do this given that the EU will play hardball, won't move on the crucial issue of free mobility of labour, and that the 'financial services passport' that gives the City of London access to the single market may be lost.

Simon Smiles is asked about the financial impact of Brexit and says that the markets have taken some comfort from the other key political event of the last few days -- Spain's general election. The fact that the Spanish opted for a centralist party rather than the extreme left has reassured markets there isn't populist contagion.

He expects the Bank of England to cut interest rates and to revive Quantitative Easing to stave off the recessionary impact of all the uncertainty created by Friday's Brexit result. He also expects any interest rate rise by the US Federal Reserve to be put off. And he notes that the pound has stabilised above 1.30 dollars -- much higher than many had expected. He's less optimistic about London shares.

Rachel Morarjee sounds a cautious note about the nationalism present in the Brexit debate. "It's a drumbeat that creates its own music, which is then impossible to control."

Simon Smiles thinks Brexit will have no direct impact on the US election in November. But he raises concerns that the frustrations evident in the British voting, which pollsters appeared to miss, makes him wonder whether a victory for Donald Trump is more likely.

One journalist asks, "who will be next?" Samuel Smiles says, "There doesn't have to be a next." He thinks that other EU governments, having seen the British chaos, will ignore calls for referendums. "The most likely scenario is that no-one else will go down this path."

Nouriel Roubini sounds a more pessimistic note. If you have high unemployment and inequality then there's a risk that things will get a lot worse.

Jing Ulrich, Managing Director and Vice-Chairman Asia Pacific at JP Morgan Chase provides some interesting context to the debate on growth and the impact of Brexit in the EU.

1. The impact of Brexit on China is modest: the UK accounts for 1% of global population, 2% of global GDP and 3% of Chinese exports -- the country can cope with it.

2. JP Morgan is not expecting a recession in either the EU or the UK

3. China, even with growth slowing, is contributing 35% of global growth against 17% from the US and just 8% from the EU.

4. China is a continental-sized economy and insulated against some of the volatility in the rest of the world. The government's commitment to growth suggests they will use fiscal tools to sustain investment to support growth if things get volatile.

Here's an interview with the Forum's founder and executive chairman, Professor Klaus Schwab, on the meaning of the theme of AMNC16 - The Fourth Industrial Revolution and its Transformational Impact.

"I believe there are three key ingredients that set the Fourth Industrial Revolution apart from other shifts in human history. These are velocity, scope and impact. Velocity because we have never seen change at such a pace before, scope because it will affect everybody’s life and impact because it has the potential to fundamentally change what it means to be human in ways we have never experienced before."

Today's session on China's New Silk Road initiative offered a collection of perspectives on the economic prospects of China's new onshore and offshore trade routes.

"We will support the One Belt, One Road project," said Jin Liquin, President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. "But before we spend shareholders' money, which is really the taxpayers' money, we have three requirements." Here they are:

"Every step towards the One Belt, One Road initiative is a step towards stability," said Eurasia Group's Ian Bremmer.

"China is going out and creating supply chains that they will be eager to protect." This means the country will feel "more invested as a country in a broader area of the world". And what does this mean? "Leadership, integration, support for stability".

The route "fills a vacuum. It's needed," Bremmer added.

Read our explainer on the New Silk Road
It's proved costly and controversial. So why is China reopening its trade route with the west?

Bremmer did however warn that it might be decades before many regions along the trade route will be attractive to investors. "It’s hard to have projects in this part of the world that are investment-ready and give you good returns," he said.

His view was countered by Benedikt Sobotka of Eurasian Resources, one of Central Asia's largest railway operators, who said: "It’s true that it’s hard to find investment-ready projects in the regions along the Silk Road, but it’s changing. We’re building them.

"We’re building ports, plants, railways. Last year we signed many investment projects," he said.

Representing construction was Zhang Bingjun of Tianjin TEDA, who said the reopening of China's ancient road had not been taken lightly. It was based on "in-depth consideration and analysis of the Chinese economy and the world economy," he said.

China's pollution problem is well-documented - so can it be solved, and if so, where do we start? That was the topic of discussion during this in-depth briefing on the final day here at AMNC16.

China is well aware that it has a major environmental challenge to overcome - particularly in its urban areas - and the country has been quick to embrace renewable energy. Here's a clip from yesterday's session with meeting co-chair Wang Chuanfu, Leading China's Green Revolution.

This chart, meanwhile, shows how China spends more on renewable energy than any other country on the planet. More, in fact, than the US and EU combined (even when you include the UK).

Here's some more background reading:

COP21: What did the major economies pledge to cut?

Which country has the worst air pollution? Clue: it's not China
China has a water crisis: how can it be solved?
6 countries leading the charge towards renewable energy

With an ever-increasing demand for electricity, and with the cost of fossil fuels so low, how can China meet its energy demands while reducing the environmental impact? The removal of subsidies is one way, says Lin Boqiang, Dean, Institute for Studies in Energy Policy, Xiamen University.

Reducing pollution in cities has been a priority for the Chinese government for years now, he says. China has successfully removed fossil fuel subsidies over the last 2-3 years, and will continue to do so to move away from its dependence on coal. More can be done, in sectors like residential and natural gas, so China will continue with its reforms and keep removing subsidies.

The impact won't just be felt domestically, Lin adds. In the last few years coal consumption has dropped, and soon CO2 emissions will begin to stabilise as a result. And because China is such a big consumer of coal, even a 1% drop will have a global impact.

What can China do that it's not already doing?

Right now, only 12% of China's energy production is clean, says Lin. That number needs to reach 15% in the near future.

Are there any Chinese businesses that are leading the way? Plenty, says Changhua Wu, director of TIR Consulting. Language and culture can be a barrier to them linking up with other companies around the world, but many are already capturing the market for sustainable buildings, renewable energy and other forms of development.

To give you an idea of how bad the pollution levels are in China's cities, one member of the audience reads out the particulate matter (PM) level for Shanghai. A bad day in Moscow would be 17, a bad day in Europe, seven. In Shanghai right now? It's 52.

So when will blue skies be the norm in China? It's a difficult, emotional question says Changhua Wu. But it's a promising sign that specific targets have been set for pollution reduction, and the next 10-15 years is a reasonable timeline for considerable improvements.

China's Deputy Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao reassures the audience that at the recent meeting of G20 deputies, contingency plans for the EU referendum vote in Britain were put forward by Bank of England and European Central Bank representatives.

Asked how long this period of market volatility will last, Nouriel Roubini says there have been two periods of 'risk-off' volatility in the financial markets in the past year -- last August/September (over Chinese growth), and in February (over US growth, commodity prices and China). Both those periods lasted a couple of months. This period will last for longer given the complications over the implications for the UK and the EU.

Is Brexit the start of a backlash against globalisation?

Yes, say Nouriel Roubini and Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek.

The Turkish Deputy PM adds that Brexit is a huge setback for European integration.

JP Morgan Chase's Jing Ulrich urges a longer perspective.

Turkey and the EU

Turkey's Deputy PM complains about how his country is used as a political football in EU politics, not just in Britain but across the continent. He says his country should be viewed as an asset not a liability and that if it came to it, more Britons would end up moving to southern Turkey than Turks moving to the UK.

Wider implications of Brexit

The general consensus is that it's a political shock but not a macroeconomic shock on the scale of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. However, it will have consequences.

The IMF's Min Zhu is concerned about the implications for policymakers from the currents in national politics. Government indebtedness limits the scope for fiscal boosts, interest rates are abnormally low, and now it looks like the other means of boosting growth -- structural reforms -- are going to be harder given the prevailing mood of many electorates.

Chinese growth prospects

After two periods of market volatility in the past year sparked, at least in part, by concerns over slowing Chinese growth, the focus turns to Beijing and its economic targets.

Nouriel Roubini is concerned about debt in China. But the Chinese panelists are more optimistic.

Time for the final session at #AMNC16, on The Impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

From AI to robotics, the commercialization of emerging technologies is redefining industries and reshaping societal norms, and yet productivity statistics tell a story of economic stagnation. How can economies realize the growth and development potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

Before the session gets started, take a look at this interview with World Economic Forum founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab on the significance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

R May Lee, Dean, School of Entrepreneurship and Management, ShanghaiTech University and one of the panelists in this discussion, has written this blog for us on the implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on education.

It includes this chart, taken from our Future of Jobs report, which shows the emerging skills gap in the modern workplace.

Meanwhile, Feike Sijbesma, CEO of Royal DSM, argues in this piece that long term solutions are required to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

This is a moment of crisis, but it's also a moment of opportunity, says Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. One crisis that needs to be addressed, he argues, is the leadership vacuum in many countries.

Benioff says: "Leaders, whether they are political leaders or entrepreneurs or CEOs, social leaders, leaders of NGOs or international organisations, must be much clearer, must be much stronger, and more articulate and more outspoken, and out front in how they look at the future.

"That it is not enough to assume that someone else is going to achieve this. Because there is definitely a crisis of trust in the world today. And there is certainly a crisis of trust that many people feel. Certainly I believe that's the voice of the UK population and that crisis of trust can only be answered with direct leadership.”

People may be scared of what the future holds, but this may actually be making us more collaborative. Today, innovation and industry is less about going it alone, argues Sijbesma, and more about working together and sharing ideas.

This trend is being driven by young people. You don't need to teach collaboration to the younger generation, you need to teach it to the older one, Sijbesma adds.

Benioff emphasises the importance of teaching coding, a "critical skill" for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“I learnt how to code, but I was self-taught, when I was 14 years old," he says. "Today I look at some of these new next-generation computers that are available. There's one computer that's available called Next Thing, and this Next Thing computer is only $7. It's a fully functioning computer. That's amazing. And they have another version of it that's comprehensive including a keyboard and a screen for $49. So that's amazing.

"That type of technology put in the hands of middle school children especially, who can learn to code, can really set them up for successful coding careers as early as graduating high school. And this is the kind of thing we need to invest in.”