Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum: Actively forging a new framework for global cooperation

On September 18, Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, visited Nankai University and delivered a speech on the theme of "Building a New Framework for Global Cooperation". Photo by Ren Yonghua

"After rapid development, humanity has pushed the industrial and technological growth model to the extreme, and is currently experiencing a recoil. To address these challenges, a new approach to both effectiveness and legitimacy must be found in the governance system. On the 18th, Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, visited the Zhou Enlai Forum of Nankai University, delivered a keynote speech entitled "Building a New Framework for Global Cooperation", and interacted with teachers and students on the spot.

"At the Davos Forum in January 2017, President Xi Jinping delivered a historic speech in which he quoted a famous quote from Dickens's novel A Tale of Two Cities: 'This is the best of times and the worst of times.'" Schwab said in his speech that since the Second World War, especially in the past 30 years, human beings have digitally connected human civilization across cultures, continents, countries and cities through economic trade and value chains, and even hope to completely eliminate poverty by 2030, which is indeed the "best era". However, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought unprecedented innovations in information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, neurotechnology and cognitive technology, posing enormous challenges to governance in countries around the world. Humanity needs to build a new national, regional and global governance system to meet the challenges. In particular, he believes, there is a need to establish a framework for the revitalization of global economic cooperation in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. E-commerce is just one of the new aspects, and there is an urgent need to develop principles and policies around new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, genetic technology, etc. The establishment of the future system may rely more on flexible coordination mechanisms, "the World Economic Forum, as a trusted international public-private partnership organization, is ready to provide an open platform for all entrusted partners to form a new framework for global cooperation."

When talking about the rise of trade protectionism in the world today, Schwab said that in the face of the threat of trade war, we should more actively promote globalization, establish a new type of government system, play the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and cooperate not only at the trade level, but also in the fields of high technology, digital economy and environmental protection.

"The world economic order should not be dominated by a few superpowers, but should be negotiated and cooperated on a broader and more diverse platform. The world should strive to build a more open market and a fairer model of business-society cooperation. During the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the scope of globalization should be expanded, not reduced, and China will play a key role in promoting globalization. Schwab said.

Of course, this is consistent with Schwab's consistent optimism about China's economy. In a previous interview with the media, Schwab directly stated his position: "Many predictions that China's economic growth will soon stop have been proved wrong in the end, and I have always been optimistic about China's economic growth." ”

In Schwab's view, in the fourth industrial revolution, innovation has become the most critical factor in the competition, China's innovation is leading, China has embarked on a good development track to build an innovative society, the next step should be to build more incubators, strive to cultivate entrepreneurs, while strengthening infrastructure construction, so that people can fully enjoy the fruits of development. (Economic Daily-China Economic Network reporter Yuan Yong)