World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

Morning, afternoon, evening, hello wherever in the world you're following us from, and welcome to Day 2 of Davos 2018.

There's plenty to look forward to today, and we'll be here to guide you through it all the way.

10:30 GMT: Enabling eCommerce: Small Enterprises, Global Players

12:30 GMT: The 21st-Century Social Compact

13:20 GMT: Special Address by Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany

14:30 GMT: An Insight, An Idea with Sundar Pichai

16:30 GMT: Special Address by Emmanuel Macron, President of France

The World Economic Forum is announcing a new Global Centre for Cybersecurity to help build a safe and secure global cyberspace.

Without adequate defences, cyber-attacks could cripple economies, nations states and society. Cyber breaches recorded by businesses are also on the rise. In the last five years they have almost doubled to an average of 130 breaches per business in 2017.

As a truly borderless problem, urgent action is needed to create a safe operating environment for new technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, self-driving cars and the internet of things.

Participants include: Stanislav Kuznetsov, Deputy Chairman, Sberbank; Kim Koro, Senior Vice-President, Qualcomm Technologies; Rob Wainwright, Director, Europol; Alois Zwinggi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum.

Alois Zwinggi, who will head the new centre says cybersecurity now affects all aspects of society, including economic growth. There is a need for greater global collaboration.

He says the Centre will start in March and will; continue the Forum’s existing Forum cybersecurity initiatives; establish a repository for cybersecurity information to enable sharing between public and private sectors; support efforts to boost cybersecurity education; support development of regulatory frameworks; and map out future cybersecurity scenarios.

Kim Koro, who leads cybersecurity at Qualcomm Technologies, says 5G will revolutionize connectivity, with profound implications for healthcare, mobility, and other parts of life. There will be billions of devices that will be connected, increasing the cybersecurity challenge. There is already some collaboration, but it needs to become global. It also needs to connect the public and private sectors she says.

The threat is growing in scale and complexity, says Rob Wainwright, Director, Europol. He says critical services, including banks, are in the firing line. Cybercriminals are going after these ‘higher value’ targets and there has been an increase in forums on the dark web.

Stanislav Kuznetsov, Deputy Chairman Sberbank, says a key role of the centre will be to share information. He says Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, would share information about cybersecurity criminals which operate in the finance industry.

He offers a touching tribute to the late Jean-Luc Vez who led the development of the new Centre.

The panel is asked if, when they are subject to a hacking attack, it is ok for them to hack back? They agree it’s a difficult legal issue. Alois Zwinggi says these are exactly the sorts of issues the Centre will help address. He also says that cybersecurity has moved from being a technology problem to being a business risk problem.

As the cybersecurity field grows, Kim Koro says it will need technical experts, but also people with a strong understanding of public policy and the economic ramifications of cyber security.

2020 will be a landmark year, as the Paris climate deal enters into force and the Sustainable Development Goals will turn five-years-old.

What action can be taken now to make sure progress is as rapid as possible in the lead-up to 2020?

Joining us on the panel for this session: Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia, Nestlé Chairman Paul Bulcke, Rock Creek CEO Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss, and Ling Wen, President and CEO of China Energy Investment Corporation.

Moderator Gillian Tett starts the session by asking President Santos to explain how the SDGs are different to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

When the SDGs were first imagined, Santos says, the MDGs were only for the developed countries, to help them fight poverty. This is not enough - everyone needs to be on board and developing countries must participate. We askes, how do we link poverty to the environment? And this is how the SDGs were born.

There are intermediate goals to make it easier to achieve the long-term goals. And the private sector must be involved. The great challenge now is how to push forward and make them work.

Unfortunately, not enough countries are fully committed to this checklist of targets, he adds.

Paul Bulcke agrees that it's a fantastic framework, but at the moment the private sector does not play a leading role in them. Countries must own them, frame them and get the private sector involved.

Beschloss says young people are really pushing for the SDGs, so the private sector is realizing that it's good business to respond.

The millennial generation of investors are about to inherit a huge amount of wealth and they are very interested in impact investing. This could have a huge impact on the success of the goals, she adds.

What about China? Is there pressure from the public for the government to embrace the SDGs?

Yes, says Ling Wen, and the Chinese government is very serious about them. About 21% of Chinese energy currently comes from renewable energy. By 2020, China wants this to be 25%.

How damaging is the US' lukewarm attitude to the SDGs? There has been no weakening of support in the US, says Beschloss, because apathy is at the federal level. At the state level and the company level, pressure for the goals to succeed is still being applied.

It's a beautiful start to the day here in Davos. We've woken up to clear skies and sunshine.

The treasury secretary is the first of the US delegation to speak formally in Davos this week, joined by US Trade Minister Wilbur Ross and Tom Bossert, Homeland Security Adviser.

The set topic: economic strategy. But first things first: size.

"Size of delegation to Davos this year is testament to the scale of Trump's work over the past year," Mnuchin says.

Wilbur Ross, US trade minister, steps in on tax and trade. "Tax reductions impeding trade are a fallacy," he says. "The US was an uncompetitive model before; now it's a very competitive one."

Question: Is there an asset bubble in US?

Steven Mnuchin: What's happening in US reflection of programmes being put in place. As we look at US growth, it continues to look quite good and is a very attractive place to invest."

Question: Your reaction to Trudeau forming TPP without US?

Mnuchin: "We are fans of bilateral trading agreements. We believe in free and fair trade. Anyone who wants to do trade with us reciprocal basis is free to do it. We're looking to increase exports."

Question: What next for protections in the US?

Wilbur Ross: Next focus will be property rights, steel and aluminium, Trump has 90 days to decide what to do about those two reports. Self-initiation of actions: most recently some related to some aluminium products form China. There'll be a busy trade agenda.

Question: How do you align Davos-style globalization with Trump's 'America first' policy?

Mnuchin: Davos has been around for 48 years. It's an important forum with leaders from all over the world, ministers CEOs and private investors. As the largest economy in the world, our objective is to be here to interact with important counterparts."

Ross: "Protections are essential to having markets operate properly, to have everyone play by the rules."

Question: Corporate tax cuts to boost investment. Are they working?

Mnuchin: Vote from the market is very positive. It's up a lot, massive investment, many companies commit millions of dollars. Apple - what they're bringing back in terms of cash, what they're paying in taxes. 2.5 million people getting special bonuses. We've raised wages and bonuses. We couldn't be happier with the response from business.

Question: What will Trump say in his speech on Friday? And who will write it?

Mnuchin: The president makes all the changes to his speech himself; it'll be driven by his thoughts and his agenda. I don't think there will be any consistencies with what we've said today. He's been on an extraordinary number of trips this year, and his interest in coming to Davos is to interact other world leaders and make sure they understand his agenda.

Question: Are there more tariffs to come? Aren't you afraid of starting a trade war?

Ross: Trade wars are fought every single day. Unfortunately every single day there are various parties violating the rules and taking advantage. There have always been trade wars: the difference now is US troops are now coming to the ramparts.

No race to the bottom

Mnuchin closes the press conference by saying that America's protectionist policies are not a race to the bottom. "We want US companies to be able to compete fairly," he says.

Mnuchin has said previously that Trump, who is delivering the keynote speech on Friday, will likely push for "reciprocal" free trade. The president will "talk a lot about his economic programme and the impact on the global economy."

"What we know is that the economy that's good for the US is good for the rest of the world," the secretary said.

Postscript

Following Mnuchin's statement “A weaker dollar is good for us as it related to trade and opportunities”, a fresh wave of selling sent the dollar to a three-year low, reports the Guardian.

Everyone needs to be in listening mode, says Professor Klaus Schwab (Associated Press)

In Davos, everyone is worried about the forgotten people.(Washington Post)

The paranoid optimism of Davos economic experts (Bloomberg)

The Forum's practical approach to the dangers of big tech (Fast Company)

Mapping connections within and between issues (Japan Times)

A Canadian thinker on ‘the elephant in the china shop’ (Quartz)

A young Zimbabwean-born female engineer’s journey to Davos (Daily Vox)

That's how Michael S. Burke summed up the Belt and Road Initiative.

Spanning four continents, the so-called New Silk Road is on track to be the largest infrastructure project in history.

It's expected to enhance connectivity, encourage better exchange of cultural knowledge and technological know-how. In this discussion, the panellists explored the implications for regional collaboration and the expansion of clean infrastructure.

The panel featured representatives from across the belt, who all offered their prospect on what it will offer the world.

Liu He, Member, Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee, is giving a special address to the Annual Meeting.

There's some background on his session, here.

Liu He says his country has worked, since President Xi's speech last year, to resist protectionism. China has looked to open its financial markets, and spread globalization through its Belt and Road Initiative.

China's economy has been transitioning from a phase of rapid growth to one of high-quality development, he says. Our focus needs to shift from 'is there enough?' to 'is it good enough?', he explains.

The structure of the economy is shifting: The added-value of the service sector takes up 60% of GDP, more than 5 percentage points higher than five years ago, he says.

An unprecedented campaign against poverty has yielded significant results. Rural poverty has fallen from nearly 100 million to 30 million, and within 3 years they aim to eliminate absolute poverty. This year alone they will live 10 million rural people out of poverty, he says.

China will "make our development more eco-friendly, and our skies blue again," he explains, as well as substantially opening up the services sector - in particular the financial sector. China will continue to "let the market play a decisive role in the allocation of resources."

He closes by reminding us that no country can deal with the major issues the world faces alone. It's crucial to make rational decisions, when it comes to climate change, disruptive technologies, or terrorism, he says.

Responding to a question from Professor Schwab, he tells us there are four priorities for reform this year:

1) Opening up of the financial sector,

2) Opening up of manufacturing sector and some services,

3) Protection of property rights – in particular intellectual property,

4) Increase imports.

The meaning of "work" is changing fast, challenging our long-held assumptions. Can we still see it as something that gives us a sense of purpose? Should we continue to rely on it for social security?

Participants in this discussion include: Dominic Barton, McKinsey & Company; Mary Flanagan, Dartmouth College; Yuval Noah Harari, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Arlie Russell Hochschild, University of California, Berkeley; Andy Serwer, Yahoo Finance; C. Vijayakumar, HCL Technologies

Report alert >>
How can we prepare everyone for the job displacement to come? This new WEF report has 6 suggestions:
Towards a Reskilling Revolution: A Future of Jobs for All

No trouble for tech

When it comes to the tech sector, the "wolf is not going to come," says C. Vijayakumar of HCL Technologies. "If you look at every tech company, we're not able to hire the right skills."

Which is one of the things that make training in ICT and tech such a good bet.

Retooling for new jobs

"We have this discourse about AI and automation," says Mary Flanagan. "We need to figure out how the human falls in that configuration. My worry as a humanist is how are we preparing people to think about this? How are we helping people who work at a grocery store and retool them for another life?"

Anxiety is on the rise

These days people feel something far worse than exploitation; they fear irrelevance, says Yuval Harari. There's also the pressure to keep reinventing yourself as one jobs revolution replaces another.

Outsourcing: good or bad?

Today every business is being reinvented with tech at its core. Outsourcing is creating more whitecollar jobs, says C. Vijayakumar. Tech is probably the only industry bringing in young talent and equipping them with the skills for the future.

Come back, cashiers

Women front and centre of the low-paying jobs most likely to disappear, says Mary Flanagan. And one of these jobs currently in the news at the moment is cashiers.

What work are humans most suited to do?

It's how you look at it, says Yuval Harari. Raising kids isn't recognized as work, but it is. We're most adapted to hunting and climbing trees, but who does that these days?

The most important jobs require an understanding of human emotions. AI could one day have better emotional intelligence than human beings.

Which jobs are most vulnerable?

We have to protect people not jobs, says Harari. The crisis here is one of meaning, not employment. If you can solve the crisis of meaning, then you can forget about jobs.

Find out which jobs could be replaced by machines, and which are less likely to, in this interactive dashboard from McKinsey.

Become a plumber, not a priest

Anything that isn't standardized is less likely to be replaced by technology, says Flanagan, which makes the plumbing trade fairly safe. But some professions are deceptive: you might think clergymen were safe - but there's now an app for clergy-related tasks, with a drop-down menu for sins, says Dominic Barton.

And don't worry: robots can't make beds

Not all low-skilled jobs are under threat, according to these researchers from McKinsey. They studied over 2,000 work industries to see which ones were most likely to vanish. You can read about the findings here.

Is better funding the answer?

Government help to keep learning and retraining could be the answer, says Arlie Russell Hochschild. And perhaps we should look to Macron's new policy of providing to individuals to put towards lifelong learning. Read more about the scheme here.

Towards worthwhile work

Crucially, jobs are not just about income, they are about deriving social worth, says Yuval Hariri. We need to understand this idea of social worth if we are to solve the puzzle of work.

Thanks to hacking, leaking and disputing the facts, It’s never been easier to distort the truth. Fake news and the digital world present a major threat to global democracy.

Social media in particular has changed the way we consume and share news and information, and accelerated the spread of inaccurate and misleading content.

Our session, Fake News versus Real Politics, examined what can be done to protect democracy in the so-called ‘post-truth’ world.

Taking part: Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, Joseph Khan, managing editor of the New York Times, Anna Belkina, deputy editor-in-chief of RT, hosted by Zeinab Badawi from BBC News.

Here is the livetweeting thread to follow on Twitter.

Zeinab introduces a video produced by BBC Click. In a world of digital communications, how can we know what is truth and what is real? Will new technology warp our understanding of reality? Is this the start of a high tech, fake news arms race?

One of the challenges is defining the term: "fake news". Who gets to decide what is fake and what is not?

Bhutto Zardari, representing a fragile democracy, is concerned about the demonization of the press in some of the world's more developed countries.

Is Wikipedia part of the problem? Wales says the platform is very earnest about getting it right. There may well be some mistakes, but the key is that the intent is positive and that you try and get it right.

A feisty debate breaks out: Belkina accuses politicians of smearing RT as a propaganda agency, but claims there isn't a single piece of evidence... Wales counters with multiple sources.

Belkina says that when RT makes mistakes, it makes corrections, and those cases become evidence for generalizations.

Khan says it is important to understand the journalistic process of covering the weapons of mass destruction, and the source of the poor political actions. The New York Times and others have examined their coverage, but there was no knowledge of the inaccuracy of the claims at the time.

A question from the audience: Is fake news a threat to democracy? Khan says yes because people live their lives based on their identities, yet fake news is a symptom of the decline in a collective sense of civic life, rather than the cause of it.

Belkina says that there is plenty of evidence that, while false information has the potential to influence politics -- even though people might be exposed to false news, in the grand scheme of things they still make their political choices based on factual information.

Do we need to rework the news media advertising business model? Wales says yes: one of the most encouraging signs over the last 12 months is the increase in subscriptions to quality publications. Yes digital advertising and its tracking is a real challenge to journalism, because if it is just a competition for clicks. Bhutto Zardari concurs. Big corporate interests own all Pakistani media, "and they don't hesitate to print false information."

What about the platforms, like Twitter, Facebook and Google. Are they publishers, are they just pipes through which the information flows? Wales says that the platforms need to think deeply about this, because it is not only a threat to society, also to their business models. Khan says there is no way that Facebook, for instance, could operate like a publisher: "they would have to hire every person in the world to assure the quality of information on the platform." At the same time they are feeling the pressure, and that is why they have made announcements lately that they will be moving more towards engagement than news sharing.

There are many grass roots ventures helping with this challenge. Wales mentions his new venture, Wikitribune, a citizen journalism website that, like Wikipedia, sources the truth through a combination of paid journalists and the citizen journalist community. Bhutto Zardari points to the Ukrainian initiative, Stop Fake.

Belkina says much of the solution lies with self-regulation within the journalism community, if RT is able to point out mistakes in the New York Times, and vice versa, that will be much more effective than formal regulation. Indeed, rejoins Khan, the only solution that will really work is more quality news, more profile for quality news, battling lies with truth. Wales: "We need a robust ecosystem, the independence of journalism to speak truth to power, and to ferret out fake news."

IMF staff are launching new, European Union-focused research highlighting the impact of unemployment and inadequate social protection on the young

All this week we're asking participants questions sent to us by the public.

It's not too late to have your voice heard - particularly if you have a question on LGBT rights. Everything you need to know about submitting them is here.

You'll be able to see the questions and answers on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube this week, and beyond.

eCommerce could give small businesses access to global markets that were once reserved for multinationals, yet just 7% of global eCommerce takes place across borders.

This session explores how new digital policies could break down barriers to international e-commerce and support the next generation of entrepreneurs to rise.

Participants include: Jack Ma, Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group Holding; Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General, World Trade Organization; Therese Fernandez-Ruiz, President and Founding Partner, Rags2Riches; Mercedes Aráoz, Prime Minister of Peru. Hosted by Richard Samans, Head of Global Agenda, World Economic Forum.

Richard Samans gets us underway and says there is an open question as to whether eCommerce will benefit small businesses or only the big global players.

Therese Fernandez-Ruiz says there are barriers for small businesses, including logistics and payments. Mercedes Aráoz, PM of Peru, shares practical things her country is doing to try to improve small business access to global markets – from global trade facilitation, to special postal deals for small businesses.

Jack Ma says that even without a perfect logistics system, payments system, or blockchain, eCommerce has grown remarkably. Alibaba would be the 21st largest economy in the world if it were a country. He asks us to imagine what will happen when those challenges are solved.

Roberto Azevêdo, who heads the WTO, says Governments still have rules and regulations that apply to 20th century trade. 'That’s gone. That’s going to disappear', he says.

Jack Ma makes a prediction: In the future there will be no made in China, no made in America, no made in Peru, he says. It’s going to be ‘made on the internet’.

In the future, every young person and small business will be able to buy globally, sell globally, pay globally, and travel globally, he says. 'This is the trend - no one can stop it.'

Jack Ma continues with a strongly worded plea not to use trade as a weapon. Use trade as the solution to solve the problems, he says. When you sanction a country, you sanction young people and small businesses. 'They will be killed, just like when you bomb somewhere'.

The panel circle back to a discussion of the challenges. The digital divide and even access to electricity are raised. Roberto Azevêdo says there are many challenges that need to be prioritized in order to make progress. He says that can only be done by collaboration between the public and private sectors, as intended by the new Enabling E-Commerce initiative.

Architectural and art historian, Dr Liv Gibbs, has posted a picture on Twitter of sunrise over Davos Platz in 1915.

Brexit, the Catalan referendum and a rising tide of nationalism have come to characterize the recent politics of Europe. This session showcased how the region’s youth can be better integrated into political processes with the aim of strengthening the European ideal and countering populist and isolationist sentiment.

Talking about these issues were:

Pascale Baeriswyl, State Secretary, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland

Nicola Forster, President and Founder, foraus – Swiss Forum on Foreign Policy

Desislava Karapchanska, Head, Business Development, WATT+VOLT SA

Michal Krupinski, Chief Executive Officer, Bank Pekao SA

Zydrune Vitaite, Director, Group Sales, Eldes

Forster began by calling on the participants to provide a snapshot from their own country highlighting where youth are having an impact. Politics and transparency emerged as dual themes. Baeriswyl highlighted the Swiss political model, arguing that it combines information sharing, creativity, fun and having an impact. She went on to say that although direct democracy gives you some instruments, it’s a work in progress. Her advice was to keep it interesting and that political education is key.

Vitaite and Krupinski focused on the need for young people to engage with and enter politics. They argued that youth have always been instrumental, particularly in addressing transparency issues. For Krupinski in particular, youth help effect change, and once in government, press business to change.

The panel agreed that crisis can define a place for young people to get involved as can the transformation of a regime from an authoritarian one to a democracy, but questioned the situation in an established democracy like Switzerland. Here, Baeriswyl argued that there is always a space, it just needs defining and potentially enlarging.

Highlighting a wider sense of dissatisfaction with European democracy, an audience member asked if it was necessary to have established political parties, arguing that young people want to break with the system.

Baeriswyl responded that because our democracies are based on party systems, we have to find models of political pressure groups that can be integrated into the political system

Accountability, digitalization and adaption were identified as the conversation’s key themes, with youth called on to seek out their own means of engaging with politics while also finding ways in which to make government accountable to them and the implementation of their initiatives.

In Davos, Alibaba founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma spoke openly and at length about some of the key challenges facing the world, delivering a stream of unique perspectives and guidance.

"We are very lucky because the world is in a big transformation because of technology. This new technology will create a lot of successful people, interesting careers but honestly every new technology will create social problems.

"The first technology revolution caused the First World War and the second technology revolution caused the Second World War - and now we have the third.

"If there is a Third World War I think that should be a war against disease, pollution and poverty, not a war against ourselves.

"If we don’t align together , human beings are going to fight each other, because each technology revolution makes the world unbalanced."

"To gain success a person will need high EQ; if you don't want to lose quickly you will need a high IQ, and if you want to be respected you need high LQ - the IQ of love."

"Women balance-wise they’re the best. If you want your company to be successful; if you want your company to operate with wisdom, with care, then women are the best.

"37% of senior management in Alibaba are women. Part of the 'secret sauce' of our success is because we have so many women colleagues."

"I think globalisation cannot be stopped - no-one can stop globalisation, no-one can stop trade. If trade stops, the world stops. Trade is the way to dissolve the war not cause the war.

"It’s our generation’s job - we have better technology and better knowledge of globalisation and it’s our generation’s responsibility or opportunity to improve it. Tell me, how can you stop globalisation?"

"Global trade must be simple and modernised; it must be inclusive so everyone has the same opportunity. The next generation of globalisation must be inclusive."

"Artificial intelligence, big data is a threat to human beings. I think AI should support human beings. Technology should always do something that enables people, not disable people.

"People like us - we have the money, resources - we should spend money on technology that enables people, empowers people and makes life better.

"Human beings will compete with machines - on knowledge you don’t have a chance. The computer will always be smarter than you are; they never forget, they never get angry. But computers can never be as wise a man.”

"The AI and robots are going to kill a lot of jobs, because in the future it'll be done by machines. Service industries offer hope - but they must be done uniquely."

"Learn from your mistakes - no matter how smart you are you will learn from them. We must share the mistakes with others.

"My thinking is that - if you want to be successful, learn from the other peoples’ mistakes, don’t learn from success stories. The book I want to write is "Alibaba: 1,001 Mistakes".

"It's not about what you achieve, but how many tough days you go through."

"You don’t need to know a lot of things, but you need to find the people who are smarter than you are. My job is to make sure smart people are working together."

"The best way to promote your company is through your product or services, or employees.

"A teacher should learn all the time; a teacher should share all the time. Education is a big challenge now - if we do not change the way we teach thirty years later we will be in trouble.

"We cannot teach our kids to compete with the machines who are smarter - we have to teach our kids something unique. In this way, 30 years later, kids will have a chance.

"Google, Facebook, Amazon and AliBaba - we are the luckiest companies of this century. But we have the responsibility to have a good heart, and do something good.

"Make sure that everything you do is for the future."

Mishal Husain from the BBC interviews newly appointed Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a post-Mugabe world.

Mnangagwa took over from Robert Mugabe after 37 years in power. The new president, after two months in office, says he will focus on Zimbabwe's economy. "We are now open for business," he says, inviting foreign investors to the country.

"Going into the future we want to embrace the international community," he says. "Today, Zimbabwe is ready for investment."

At the time of independence, Zimbabwe was once a regional food basket. But the African nation has long suffered a food security crisis, with more than 4 million people believed to be malnourished. Mnangagwa says the country should be able to produce enough grain again. "We now have a food surplus."

On the Mugabe reign, marked at times by political violence, the president says he has set up a national peace and reconciliation commission to try and heal the issues of the past did not commit to a formal apology.

Mnangagwa tells Husain that there will be new elections this year, probably after July, and invites the international community, including the EU, to observe. "We will have transparent elections, free and fair."

His adds that his ZANU-PF party will respect the outcome of the election, and whichever party is the winner will proceed to take the reigns of power.

On relations with Trump and his recent comments about African countries, he says he would still talk with the US president, invites him to build golf courses near Victoria Falls!

In other relations, he says Zimbabwe is ready to rejoin the Commonwealth, and looks forward to listening to the UK's Theresa May in Davos.

"We, as Italians and Europeans, will always let dialogue prevail," says the Italian leader. He is now taking questions on the future of Italy's economy, as it picks up speed, and the future of the Eurozone.

China's 19th CPC National Congress set ambitious domestic goals for tackling poverty while reaffirming its commitment to further opening up to the world.

Is the world ready for China?

The big financial story of tomorrow is going to be all about China, says Jin Keyu, Professor of Economics at LSE.

"It's the first time a county with only 25% of the GDP of the US is leading in many areas of tech. It's also the first time that the world's second-largest economy is a middle-income superpower. As we encourage China to open up, are we prepared for the shocks and volatility that even a tiny tremor in China could cause?"

China and the West: a clash of cultures?

The future, analysts say, appears to be one of systemic dissonance between two incompatible economies. James Kynge in the Financial Times has more details.

The Belt and Road

The New Silk Road initiative is on track to be the world's largest infrastructure project and will change how geopolitics is done. John Zhao explains: "It demonstrates the strategic responsibility that China is carrying for the future world, where you share the economic wealth, but you also establish new rules for collaboration."

Not familiar with the Belt and Road? Read this text explainer or watch this video explainer:

A more careful, considerate China

Angel Gurria of the OECD says that China will see a shift from exports to consumption, from investment to more services. "That means a better China for the Chinese," he says. "You see it happening; people moving into the cities under better circumstances ..."

The centennial goals

In his three-and-a-half-hour speech to the Chinese Communist Party in October, President Xi Jinping reiterated China’s two aims.

1. To wipe out poverty by 2021, the 100th anniversary of the Party’s founding

2. To turn China into a ‘fully developed nation’ by 2049.

Participants discussing China's "new era" include:

Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD; Jin Keyu, Professor of Economics at LSE; Li Sixuan, China Central Television; Mark Tucker, Group Chairman of HSBC; Xiao Yaqing, Chairman of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC); John Zhao, Founder and CEO of Hony Capital Ltd.

Chancellor Merkel speaks of a new age of "partnerships" for development, working at eye level with African countries. She emphasizes shared responsibility for the world.

Referring to Brexit, she says: "We very much regret the fact the UK will not be a member of the EU for long." She also stresses that membership of the single market is contingent on the freedoms of the single market, including the free movement of people - a sticking point for the UK.

On EU foreign policy, Angela Merkel says:

"We need to take more responsibility, we need to take our destiny into our own hands."

Germany's Chancellor also speaks of the need for Europe to shift towards a digital common market and a "social economy 4.0" for inclusive growth in the digital age.

"If we don’t manage it we will have Luddites as we did in the past," she says.

Multilateralism is under threat, she says as she addresses participants at a big week in Davos for the future of Europe.

"Have we actually learned the lessons of history? We haven’t really," she said.

"We think that shutting ourselves off, isolating ourselves, will not lead us into a good future. Protectionism is not the answer."

The German Chancellor is at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy, which is in rude health at the start of 2018. Growth hit a six-year high in 2017 amid a broader recovery in the Eurozone, while joblessness has hit a fresh low.

The Chancellor’s French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, will also speak this afternoon, and the two leaders recently met to discuss deepening Franco-German cooperation.

Wai Wai Nu, who has founded two NGOs for women's rights, witnessed first-hand how discrimination spilled over into what UNHCR calls the 'world’s fastest growing refugee crisis'.

In Davos, Alibaba founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma spoke openly and at length about some of the key challenges facing the world, delivering a stream of perspectives and guidance.

It is a "moral imperative," to get more women into technology, says Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

More context here on his decision to fire an employee over a memo criticizing diversity policy.

Google would be prepared to pay more tax, Pichai says.

"Tax is a big question, we pay close to 20% in tax, we’re happy to pay a higher amount, whatever the world agrees on. It’s not an issue of what tax you pay, it’s how you divide it," he says.

"We want the OECD to solve these problems."

Pichai says he is an optimist - for the future of the internet, technology and AI.

"AI is probably the most important thing humanity has ever worked on. I think of it as something more profound than electricity or fire," says Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google.

Find out what he has to say on the age of artificial intelligence, the future of the open web, and technology's impact on jobs and society.

Born in Chennai, India, and educated at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur then Stanford, Pichai took the helm at Google two years ago. At that time, the company which was famously founded in a Silicon Valley garage in 1998 was restructured into the parent company Alphabet, which oversees search giant Google as well as other businesses like Nest.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed the importance of multilateralism and warned that we haven’t learned from the darkest days of history.

"Global trade tensions rise" is the headline on the Wall Street Journal today. That was the opening for this session featuring:

David W. MacLennan, Chairman and CEO, Cargill; Bill Winters, Group CEO, Standard Chartered Bank; Emma Marcegaglia, Chairman, Eni SpA; Alan Murray, President, Fortune; Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General, World Trade Organization.

Ross opens by saying US policy is not Smoot-Hawley-style protectionism, but that previous administrations' policies created imbalances and unfairness that the current administration thinks it can correct. The current global trading system is old and needs revising, and administration representatives have concerns about the WTO system, he says.

The WTO's Azevêdo says the WTO is concerned by the US blocking appointments to the body's courts, breaking the whole system. Eni's Marcegaglia agrees, says let's reform the system together, not break it. Cargill's MacLennan: "Systems like the WTO have been good, but anything that is 25 years old and anything that old needs to bereformed. Let's not break it though."

Trade wars don't happen because anyone thinks "let's have one", they happen because of spiraling retaliatory action, what are the risks of that asks Murray. Standard Chartered's Winters agrees there is such a risk, as does Azevêdo, although he warns that we should not talk ourselves into such a situation.

Wilbur Ross: "China has been superb at free trade rhetoric and protectionist behaviour." The US markets are the freest in the world - is there really free trade, or is it a unicorn in the garden? After the war it was deliberate US policy to help Asia and Europe recover from the war, and that was good policy. We went wrong because we didn't time limit it, measures that were appropriate in 1949 are not appropriate for now.

MacLennan agrees that circumstances have changed, but why give up US leadership in trade - other countries can step in. Winters says the question is do the US and China want to work to fix the problems on a multilateral basis, or not?

Ross says US's aversion to multilaterals is twofold:

The US election was interpreted as a response to the grievances of populations which feel like they haven't got much out of the multilateral trade system and the globalization boom. How should those who believe in globalization respond? Azevêdo says there is a great deal of emotion involved in this discussion, many people have improved lives over the last 3 decades, but those who have not seen the benefits will not be convinced.

If you have read this far - well done! Catch the rest of the session live and online here, featuring questions from the audience: Future Shocks: Systemic Trade Tremors

Ratio of world merchandise trade volume growth to world real GDP growth, 1981-2016

Natural disasters caused more than $300 billion in damage in 2017 and environmental dangers dominate the top risks in the Global Risks Report. Climate change will increase the risks.

This session is exploring how communities and countries can better manage these risks and build long-term resilience.

Participants include: Al Gore, former U.S. Vice-President; Peter O’Neill, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea; Philipp M. Hildebrand, Vice-Chairman, BlackRock; Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Coordinator, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad. Hosted by Bronwyn Nielsen from CNBC Africa.

Al Gore sets the scene by explaining that watching the nightly news is like a 'nature walk through the book of revelation'. He says that scientists predicted these changes many years ago and we need to listen to what they are predicting for the future.

Peter O’Neill, PM of Papua New Guinea, says climate change is an enormous challenge to many families in his country and across many African, Caribbean, and Pacific Island nations, while people in other parts of the world still debate whether climate change is real or not.

Ibrahim, who represents indigenous women and peoples in Chad, says 90% of the water in lake Chad has evaporated in just 40 years. With population pressures, it creates conflicts she says.

Philipp M. Hildebrand from one of the world's biggest asset managers, Blackrock, tells how on Sunday night after he arrived in Davos, emergency personnel knocked on his door at 2am. They were preparing emergency cots in the local gymnasium due to the extreme weather. It's affecting us now, he says.

The panel discusses how Cape Town will run out of water in April if it doesn't rain.

Hildebrand cites three factors changing how financial markets approach climate change. First, we are about to see the largest wealth transfer in history. The enormous wealth created will soon be passed to the next generation, which cares about issues like climate change, he says. Second, climate change is too big a problem to delegate to governments alone - the World Bank estimates $57 trillion of investments are at risk from extreme climate. Third, there's a sense that Governments have failed to come up with the right answers in general, he says.

Gore says that companies that incorporate ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance factors) into their business plans perform better. It's now becoming clear that if businesses are not dealing with these issues they are not fulfilling their fiduciary duty.

Hildebrand says the definition of 'fiduciary duty' is still very narrow in the US. He expects it to evolve and says things are changing.

A debate breaks out. Ibrahim says things are not changing quickly enough. People are suffering and more action is needed now.

Nielsen thinks many consumers are demanding change - she asks if consumers are the answer to this? Gore doesn't think they will be enough. Governments will need to set the frameworks and governance and businesses will need to do more. He says just like the sub-prime mortgage bubble, we now have a sub-prime carbon bubble because two-thirds of carbon reserves are 'worthless'.

The panel discusses the dramatic cost reductions seen in solar and wind electricity. Al Gore says people are predicting solar electricity will be as cheap as one cent per kilowatt hour. He says the US decision yesterday to place an import tariff on solar panels - some 30 per cent - was actually started a long time ago by businesses, not President Trump. He says it is unfortunate.

Ibrahim says chemical pollution also affect agriculture - it gets into the soil. She says we need to rethink our approach to agriculture too. It's not just about electricity, it's also about feeding the world, she says.

The conversation shifts to the role of media coverage. Events in the US are receiving more media coverage than extreme weather in other parts of the world. Coverage of extreme weather also often ignores the links to climate change.

Being positive is what is keeping my people alive, says Ibrahim. These conversations give hope but hope does not give life, she says. We need action. We are seeing the impacts of climate change all around the world. The climate isn't choosing to only affect the poor, but it has a bigger impact on them.

Hildebrand says he generally thinks things are moving and he is optimistic. We have to change capitalism, he says.

Peter O'Neill and Al Gore agree that change is underway and they are optimistic. However, Al Gore says the change may not be happening fast enough.

The panel concludes on an optimistic note - the world has a chance to switch to 'clean and cheap' renewable energy. 30 per cent of the world's energy is still produced by coal, says Hildebrand, and we need to tackle that. Gore says the Tesla battery in South Australia is working and shows what is possible. We need governments to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, he says.

Ibrahim points out that forests are a natural and free technology for mitigating climate change and are available to everyone. We need to protect them better, she says.

Germany's Angela Merkel decries right-wing populism as 'poison' at Davos summit (Deutsche Welle)

Merkel Warns of ‘Poison’ of Populism in Call for European Stance (Bloomberg)

Angela Merkel says protectionism must be shunned, lauds India for multilateral cooperation (The Economic Times)

Davos: Merkel urges common European foreign policy (The Irish Times)

German leader Merkel says the current world order is under threat (CNBC)

Be it international affairs, diplomacy, or security, the Trump administration has consistently highlighted that national interests come first.

But where does that leave the rest of us? What can the world expect from the “America First” foreign policy doctrine?

With President Trump due to speak in Davos later this week, this session takes on a new level of significance.

Ahead of the session, explore our Transformation Map on the US to try and make sense of the complex forces currently reshaping the world’s biggest economy.

It's a charming slogan, says Luis Almagro, Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS).

America First is, in many ways, not something new for Latin American citizens. We have seen priority

America First is, in many ways, not something new for Latin American citizens. We have seen priority given to American interests in the past. We have enjoyed it sometimes and suffered it many times.

Our approach is to wait and see. We must always accommodate the US administration, he says.We can't complain too much, as the US has always been supportive of the work of the OAS.

It's not surprising that a country should look out for its interests first, says Ghassan Hasbani, the Lebanese Deputy PM.

But no global power can disengage completely from global affairs. Not smaller countries, never mind a superpower.

However, there is a lack of clarity regarding the US' strategy for the Middle East, he adds.

You must remember that we have a US President who is speaking to a group of people who feel left behind, says Senator Bob Corker.

There is no doubt that Trump is unpredictable, he adds, but sometimes this unpredictability can be a benefit.

The real question, LSE's Jin Keyu says, is 'is America really putting the US first?' It's not unusual for a country to do that.

How will China react? If it stops at solar panels and washing machines, Jin adds, then that's ok. If it gets much worse, then there would "absolutely" be retaliatory measures taken by China.

Is the US creating a vacuum that the Chinese could fill? China did not expect this opportunity to come along, says Jin, but they are ready to take it.

Are we making too much of America First? Is Trump really a paper tiger?

His bite is less than his bark, says Robert Kaplan, but for 75 years the US was the global leader, the chief military and economic power. And when you are this chief global power, your bark matters a lot.

What would the panelists like to hear Trump talk about when he speaks in Davos later this week?

Corker: That America is taking a positive role in the world, and an explanation of America first that does not make it look as is it's really America alone.

Jin: That even with American First policies, the US will still live up to its key responsibilities.

Hasbani: Clarity on the plan for the Middle East, if there is one.

Almagro: That he is committed to bringing democracy back to Venezuela.

Kaplan: That America First means American values first, with strengthened alliances with like-minded nations.

It's a wide-ranging and energetic speech:

Returning to climate change, President Macron says that the EU should set a minimum price for CO2. Here's a quick guide to how carbon trading works.

China will play a key role, with a major infrastructure project afoot to link its markets to Europe. "The new Silk Road has to be a green road. We cannot have a coal-based route," says Macron.

The IMF's remit should be broadened to scrutinize Bitcoin and crypto-currencies, says President Macron.

He argues for more global cooperation on tax, to avoid "unbridled tax optimization." There is a "moral way" to make profits, he says.

He also calls for more action on gender equality, and says that France is working with the World Economic Forum on initiatives for equal pay.

Globalization must make sense to people and improve their lives - otherwise we will see a new generation of nationalists and extremists, warns President Macron.

After an optimistic opening, he addresses some of the failures and challenges in global affairs.

"In terms of trade we’re moving towards greater protectionism, a fragmentation of what the WTO has done in the past, we’re undoing what globalization has been able to achieve," he says.

Despite his policies to make France a climate leader, overall the picture is bleak.

"On climate change, we’re losing the battle. In 2020, if we’re not able to deliver concrete results, what will be able to say to people?"

The speech also tackles a failure to make sure economic growth benefits everyone in society.

"Economic growth is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end," says President Macron. You can see more context on the rise of populism in France here.

President Macron calls for more "ambition" in the EU.

"Those who don’t want to move forwards should not block the most ambitious in the room."

"In France it was forbidden to fail, and forbidden to succeed," President Macron says, talking about a culture shift to boost entrepreneurialism.

"France is back. France is back at the core of Europe. Because we will never have any french success without a European success. All of these initiatives and reform have a natural counterpart which is European strategy," he says. Angela Merkel also talked about her vision for Europe's future in a digital economy in her speech.

"We have decided to make France a model in the fight against climate change," he says.

He says this is part of his drive to create a more competitive France, seeing it as a source of job creation.

The overall challenge is to "make France more competitive, more innovative in order to finance a fair system," he says. This means tackling a culture of laws and regulation, bringing France more in line with Germany and northern Europe.

"We will make innovation the centre-piece of the economy," with a 15 billion euro investment over five years in education, and 10 billion in research.

His challenge, he says, is to build a prosperous France that doesn't forget the people left behind by globalization.

"With this snow, it's hard to believe in global warming. Obviously and thankfully you didn’t invite anyone skeptical about global warming this year," says French President Emmanuel Macron, in a mischievous start to his speech.

At 40 years old, Macron is the youngest ever President of the French Republic, who formed his own political party and swept to power in last year’s elections.

International in outlook, he is a firm supporter of the EU. In this video, he joins German Chancellor Angela Merkel to talk about the ties that have bound the two countries together since the aftermath of the Second World War.

In her earlier speech, Angela Merkel stressed the importance of cooperation in Europe.

Under Macron’s leadership, France climbed to the top of a list of countries of “soft power” - or cultural and diplomatic clout.

You can browse our transformation map to see the biggest challenges confronting the President, from domestic security in the wake of terrorist attacks to reforming labour laws.

Davos 2018: Macron says globalisation facing ‘major crisis’ (Financial Times)

Emmanuel Macron: 'France is back as a European reformer' (Deutsche Welle)

France to set up £8.7bn fund for research and innovation (Associated Press)

Macron calls for global compact to harness globalization (Reuters)

Macron declares ‘France is back’ (Arab News)

The technology could eliminate many of the constraints we now face, he said.

The BBC have written up a Davos dictionary, outlining some of the words and terms you might not understand.

So if you've spent the last two days baffled by benchmarking or confused by circularity, then you can read it here.

More than half of the EU's 619 coal-powered plants are losing money.

... and reflect on a busy day here in Davos.

And beyond the alliterative line-up, there were great moments with Google's Sundar Pichai, China's Liu He and Zimbabwe's newly elected President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

That's it for today, folks. Thanks for joining us here on the liveblog.

Before we sign off, we'll leave you with a snapshot of what's to come tomorrow.

08:00 GMT: An Insight, An Idea with Malala Yousafzai

10:00 GMT: The Remaking of Global Finance

10:20 GMT: Special Address by Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina

12:00 GMT: A New Era for Global Health

13:00 GMT: Special Address by Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

16:30 GMT: A Conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel