Day 1 at ‘Summer Davos’ 2025: AI, trade and the global economy in focus

Welcome to Day 1 of the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions - also known as 'Summer Davos' - taking place in Tianjin, China, from 24 to 26 June.

This year’s meeting brings together more than 1,700 global leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society. The focus? How entrepreneurship and innovation can reignite growth amid a rapidly evolving geo-economic landscape.

Among today's voices shaping the global conversation were Rwanda’s ICT Minister Paula Ingabire, economist Carl Benedikt Frey, historian Adam Tooze and Siemens' Peter Koerte. They explored:

- How artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is reshaping industries and labour markets

- What lies ahead for the global economy amid ongoing geopolitical shifts

- How to scale up climate resilience and energy innovation in a fragmented world

Also launched today is the Forum’s flagship Top 10 Emerging Technologies report, created in collaboration with scientific publisher Frontiers.

Follow this blog for live updates, expert insights, session highlights and report launches from ‘Summer Davos’.

Setting the context on trade in a provocative exchange in a session on Trade: Trends and Endgames , the Forum's Børge Brende remarked that trade was no longer 'boring' and Italy's Valentino Valentini agreed, "never a dull moment", he said.

But what does the future hold for trade at this precarious moment for the global exchange of goods and services? While that question is hard to answer, there was momentum at Summer Davos for collaboration and partnerships. "Dialogue is the only way forward", said Valentini.

Hassan Elkhatib, Egypt's Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade traced the current 'fading' of globalization back to the global financial crisis, but said, "we need to talk logic". He urged countries to reach balanced trade agreements not through tariffs, but rather through investments and partnerships.

We know that AI is rapidly transforming workplaces and workforces. But how, exactly?

In a session on the Pivoting Workforce, two Founder CEOs, Kian Katanforoosh (Workera) and Ayumi Moore Aoki (Women in Technology) spoke about the impact of AI on establishing more inclusive workplaces.

Katanforoosh said AI will flatten traditional hierarchies, which could be a good thing for inclusivity, while Moore Aoki urged efforts to upskill women - particularly in Africa. She said, "one out of every four people in ten years is going to be an African person. So this huge amount of talent that we have there, we have to really focus on it and see how we can leverage it."

Carl-Benedikt Frey, Director, Future of Work, Oxford Martin School, added that AI and automation may shift service jobs from high-income to lower-income countries, much like what happened in manufacturing, narrowing global productivity gaps through tech like machine translation.

Meanwhile, Ni Ying, CEO Adecco China, pointed out that some companies are already replacing traditional performance-based pay with AI-driven skill-based compensation, signaling a broader transformation in HR practices.

Elizabeth Thurbon, Professor of International Political Economy at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), offered a sharp contrast in how countries are approaching the shift to clean energy. Speaking at the Checking In on the Energy Transition session, she noted:

“China approaches the energy transition in a way that is very different from many other countries, particularly in the West. It understands that the energy transition is a massive national-security multiplier.”

The comment aligns with findings from the Forum’s new Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2025, which reveals that while global efforts are accelerating, real progress requires energy transitions to be viewed as strategic national advantages.

China, which now ranks 12th on the Index, has scaled up renewables, grid integration and domestic technology innovation to strengthen both energy security and economic competitiveness.

In a separate conversation examining the current state of global climate action ten years after the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals, Adam Tooze and Thurbon tempered the sobering reality we face with optimism.

Tooze said: “If you told me 20 years ago that according to this year's numbers, renewable investment in energy would be twice what it is in fossil, I would have asked to be smoking some of what you were smoking, that is our reality today. It isn't because fossil has collapsed, it's because there has been a gigantic surge in renewable above all led by China.”

With all eyes on the 'new era' for the global economy and the impact of US policies on that trajectory, Robert Koopman, from the American University, warned 'Summer Davos' to focus on labour markets and immigration rather than tariffs as a predictor for what's to come.

He said, in a session on Reading the US Economy, that while "the tariffs have these microeconomic indirect effects", in contrast, immigration policies can "upend production outputs, the amount of money circulating in the economy and the number of people generating expenditure."

The Forum’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2025 report, developed in collaboration with scientific publisher Frontiers, has just been released - spotlighting breakthrough technologies with the potential to reshape industries and societies in the coming years.

At today’s launch session, Forum Managing Director Jeremy Jurgens highlighted a major shift: “What we’re seeing today is existing technologies combining in new ways… that honestly were unimaginable when we [first] launched the report 13 years ago.”

That convergence is a defining theme this year - across fields like synthetic biology, AI, energy systems and materials science. The report also points to innovations that could improve trust in digital content, deliver more sustainable manufacturing, and revolutionize healthcare.

Curious how the technologies are chosen? Find out more.

The World Economic Forum’s latest Global Gender Gap Index is a “wake-up call”, according to Rania Al-Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation.

Speaking at the AMNC25 Opening Press Conference, she said: “We need to be mindful that if there is more inclusion, our economies will be able to move forward faster.”

The report reveals it will take 123 years to achieve full global gender parity. The concept of “womenomics” - that increasing women’s participation in the workforce boosts economic growth - is more relevant than ever, writes Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director at the Forum.

In a separate session on Women in AI, Meirav Oren, Executive Chairwoman and Co-Founder, Versatile, suggested that women are held back because they strive for perfection. It's about "encouraging a different behaviour", she said. "there are very qualified candidates out there, they're just not necessarily applying for the right roles."

Despite growing signs of a shift in the global economic landscape, many countries remain committed to multilateralism, said Jeffry A. Frieden, Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University, during a session on the "Contours of a New Economic Order?"

“There are many countries and many regions around the world that are relatively satisfied with the system as it is organized. The European Union, China, the BRICS, to some extent, all have their complaints but this does not mean [that] the fact that the US seems to be withdrawing to some extent is the end necessarily of multilateralism.”

His comments come as the global trade landscape is being reshaped - with rising tariffs and regional trade alliances - and becoming increasingly intertwined with geopolitical tensions, causing fragmentation in the global economy.

Other speakers including Bahrain’s Minister of Sustainable Development Noor Ali Alkhulaif and HKEX Chairman Carlson Tong explored how countries are adapting to this fragmentation and what the next pillars of economic cooperation could look like.

Sir Tony Blair echoed the sense of equanimity in a later Conversation, suggesting that geopolitical turmoil is a constant. He emphasized the importance of "connectivity", explaining, "the more connected you are, the more open-minded you are, if you're educating your young people to be creative. If you're educating them that it doesn't matter what race or faith or nation you come from, let's see what we have in common. These are great things for the future of the Middle East."

Here's a look at some of today's top sessions. You can see the programme in full here.

All times listed below are in China Standard Time (CST) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) +8.

8.30 - The Time of AI+

From supply chain optimization to tracking bee populations, AI has become embedded in industries. As adoption continues to grow, so too have the ways companies are using AI across and within different sectors and regions. How is the adoption of AI playing out and what could the deviations in usage mean for business collaboration?

11:00 - Chief Economists Briefing

The global economic outlook has darkened considerably, according to the World Economic Forum’s latest survey of chief economists. Gain expert insights and actionable perspectives from leading chief economists on the outlook for global growth amid geopolitical uncertainty and technological disruption.

11.30 - Women in AI

Women constitute around 25%-30% of the AI workforce worldwide, per recent estimates. This underrepresentation is even more pronounced in senior roles, with less than 15% of executive positions held by women. As demands for AI talent continue to grow, what are the most promising approaches to ramp up AI hiring and diversify talent sources in the broader industry?

14:30 - Honest Conversation on Climate

A decade after the Paris Agreement, policies and politics have evolved but the associated risks from climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss remain. Although the narrative is shifting towards energy security, national and regional actors are still looking towards innovative solutions to climate challenges. How are government and business commitments shifting and what could change mean for industries that have been preparing for future green growth?

14:30 - Reading the US economy

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the US economy has outperformed most other developed economies, benefiting from continued investment in innovation and a strong workforce. As a new policy direction comes into view, what is the outlook for the world’s largest economy?

16:00 - Trade: Trends and Endgames

With heightened uncertainty on increased tariffs, the risk of geoeconomic fragmentation is growing. How has the trade landscape shifted compared to recent years and how can leaders look beyond the current volatility?

The World Economic Forum’s latest Top 10 Emerging Technologies report explores the tech that’s at the tipping point between scientific progress and real-world impact. In areas from AI to nanotechnology and energy, the technologies in the report are set to deliver impact in the next three to five years. Each of the 10 technologies was selected this year for its novelty, level of development, and its potential to deliver meaningful societal benefits.

This report presents four scenarios for the global economy, a data-driven assessment of how businesses in 12 sectors may be affected and a set of actionable strategies to help businesses and governments not only adapt to change but also shape it.

For the first time in history, the hydrological cycle is out of balance and while demand for food rises, water resources become even more scarce or unpredictable. But all is not lost – emerging technological advances from AI for sustainable agriculture to IOT, advanced irrigation systems and others present a unique opportunity. China and emerging markets are critical to global food and water systems, and this landscape analysis provides recommendations on what actions can support economic and ecological sustainability.