Against a backdrop of evolving geoeconomic realities and exponential innovation, the World Economic Forum brought together more than 1,800 global leaders from business, government, civil society, international organizations and academia for the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026 in Dalian. Across more than 200 sessions, the meeting underscored the urgency of value creation, with leaders exploring how technological breakthroughs can translate into economic value and broader progress for all. Discussions focused on the importance of the right investment architecture, policy frameworks and partnerships to scale innovation for the next era of growth.
The meeting, known as “Summer Davos”, welcomed Chinese Premier Li Qiang, alongside six heads of government: Kim Minseok, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea; Tarique Rahman, Prime Minister of Bangladesh; Amadou Oury Bah, Prime Minister of Guinea; Olzhas Bektenov, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan; Nyam-Osor Uchral, Prime Minister of Mongolia; and Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Montenegro. It brought together leaders from over 90 countries and regions, including 90 government leaders, 1,000 senior business executives and 200 leaders of unicorns and Technology Pioneers from the Forum’s innovator communities.
Under the theme “Innovating at Scale”, leaders and entrepreneurs explored how technology can be harnessed as a strategic opportunity and how its benefits can be shared widely and contribute to resilient growth. Sessions focused on the trends shaping Asian economies and China’s economic outlook as well as the critical role of entrepreneurship, the energy transition and digital transformation in building more sustainable economic systems. Participants examined how advances in AI, energy systems and natural capital are reshaping competitiveness, while discussions on jobs and skills focused on pathways to the next billion jobs and the structural transformation of work in an AI-driven economy.
Innovators were central to the meeting, with over 200 leaders from the Forum’s innovator communities, including Technology Pioneers and a record number of unicorns, focused on moving emerging technologies from experimentation to deployment across industries.
“Technological progress is one of the most powerful tools for addressing the existential challenges of a growing global population,” said André Hoffmann, Co-Chair, World Economic Forum. “Leaders must recognize that the most important boundary is not technological, but planetary. Innovation only has value if it serves humanity and preserves the conditions that make life possible in the first place.”
“Technology is creating new opportunities for growth across industries and economies,” said Larry Fink, Co-Chair, World Economic Forum. “Realizing that potential will depend on scaling innovation in ways that drive productivity, investment, and broader prosperity.”
“The next phase of innovation is about closing the gap between technological potential and real-world economic impact, to translate breakthroughs into tangible progress for industry and people,” said Alois Zwinggi, President and CEO, World Economic Forum. “Innovating at scale requires partnership across a range of sectors, including government, business, and academia. The meeting in Dalian focused on practical solutions that deliver growth for all.”
“We should harness technology for good. Innovation drives humanity’s quest for a better life,” said Li Qiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China. “Advanced technologies should serve as tools that benefit people across countries, rather than sources of chaos that undermine peace and stability. Technology progress should always reflect humanity’s common values and advance global peace and development.”
“Our efforts do not stop within Korea. We are working toward the goal of AI for all, to ensure that all global citizens can enjoy the benefits of AI,” said Kim Minseok, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea. “Under the slogan AI to Solve Global Challenges, it will serve as a hub for addressing global issues through AI.”
“The companies that are really pulling ahead are putting their best people and resources on just two or three big bets: the areas where the data is rich, the matters are strategic and the advantage is real,” said Orit Gadiesh, Partner and Chair Emeritus, Bain & Company, Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026.
The meeting focused on five key questions: how to build prosperity amid shifting geoeconomic and industrial realities; how to understand the next phase of China’s economic trajectory; how to harness technology for outcomes in the real economy; how to ensure growth creates jobs and opportunities for the next generation; and how to align energy and climate systems to drive competitiveness.
How can we build prosperity amid shifting geoeconomic and industrial realities?
Recent developments in the Middle East sent a shock through energy markets and created uncertainty about global growth, jobs and security. Governments are taking a more active role in industries deemed critical for economic and security reasons. Against this backdrop, discussions on trade, investment, US-China relations and regional cooperation underscored the importance of preserving the collaboration that underpins long-term resilience and prosperity.
Published ahead of the meeting, the Chief Economists’ Outlook showed how quickly the global economic outlook had shifted away from cautious optimism due to risks around conflict in critical energy routes. Another report quantified the economic drag created by fragmentation in global trade and finance. The Forum’s Global Lighthouse Network also announced 16 new members deploying advanced technologies at scale.
Participants examined the changing shape of global trade, as the system in place for the last century morphs. They highlighted the proliferation of regional and bilateral trade agreements – termed “minilateralism” – as a positive development in the face of a difficult global trade context. They stressed the importance of the US-China relationship to the global economy, with particular emphasis on their role shaping global trade and prosperity. They also emphasized the potential each has for spreading prosperity beyond their borders.
Leaders also spoke of the role of regional platforms, including APEC and ASEAN in strengthening economic integration and policy coordination in key areas such as the digital economy. “We need to be more ambitions about how far growth can go and more honest about the hard decisions and joint efforts that need to be made to get there,” said Mirek Dušek, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “When you buy a car, it’s not only that you can save money from electricity compared to gas — you can also create a personal token factory,” said Robin Zeng, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026.
“Industrial resilience is a shared effort. No single company or country can build it alone; it depends on strengthening core capabilities while keeping value chains open, diversified and technologically connected,” said Kiva Allgood, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “The latest Global Lighthouse Network members show that industrial transformation is entering a new phase, with leading manufacturers moving beyond isolated technology deployments to scale AI, automation and digital capabilities across operations end-to-end, strengthening productivity, resilience and long-term competitiveness.”
“This is a very different world in which CEOs have to operate,” said Margery Kraus, Founder and Executive Chairman, APCO, Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026. “The ability to find out who the right stakeholders are and how to engage on a market-by-market basis is really going to be the difference between success and lack of success for some companies.”
How can we understand the next phase of China’s economic trajectory?
China is expected to account for over a quarter of global real GDP growth in 2026, making its economic trajectory a key driver for global markets and supply chains. Overall, Asia, as the economic engine of the world, is projected to deliver over half of global GDP growth in 2026.
In a Special Address, Chinese Premier Li Qiang set out China’s innovation-driven vision for growth, emphasizing that new technologies should benefit the world and that this can be achieved through cooperation and collaboration.
A new Forum report on China’s industrial transformation highlighted practical pathways for digital upgrading, decarbonization and stronger industrial integration. The Forum’s Transitioning Industrial Clusters initiative expanded its network by including Dalian Jinpu New Area, and continues to drive industrial transformation and new opportunities for growth.
The meeting also examined the conditions needed to scale human-led AI transformation across Asia.
Participants agreed that China’s economic trajectory will be fuelled by technologies like AI, electric vehicles and renewable energy – with the country’s natural resources, particularly critical materials, providing a strong foundation for growth.
Infrastructure projects like China’s Belt and Road Initiative are helping other economies, particularly in the developing world, share in the value Chinese growth creates, participants said.
“Asia’s next phase of development is about translating innovative solutions to economic and societal value,” said Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “China’s industrial transformation, human-led AI and entrepreneurial dynamism demonstrate that scaling innovation requires not only technology, but also the right ecosystem of policy, capital, talent and partnerships to drive jobs and shared prosperity.”
“China really wants to be all it could be. The US wants to be all it can be. At the same time, the two nations are so inextricably entangled that each requires a level of cooperation with the other to ensure its own survival,” said Graham Allison, Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School.
“I think this is a decade of partnership, and more partnerships mean advancing not only local market development, but also global market development,” said Eric Tse, Chief Executive Officer, SBP Group, Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026. “In the past, most companies in China focused on pipeline and distribution in China, but now we see China moving forward to not only having a China pipeline but having a global pipeline.”
How can technology be harnessed for outcomes in the real economy?
Despite record investment in AI, quantum computing and biotechnology, productivity growth across most economies remains sluggish, highlighting a widening gap between technological potential and economic outcomes.
To be truly transformational, the benefits of technological progress must be widely shared and contribute to broad-based resilient growth. Adoption at scale is needed to turn innovation into tangible progress for industry and people, meaning that the next phase of innovation is as much about accelerating the diffusion of emerging technologies as it is about generating new breakthroughs.
Participants said that the implementation of technology like AI is quickly becoming a growth differentiator. They pointed to the huge progress that entrepreneurs in this space have already made, saying that the primary bottleneck to deep economic impact is no longer innovation, but readiness. This phase, they said, holds significant potential – for example across drug development, agriculture and novel uses of existing technologies – but they stressed that collaboration and partnership are key to ensuring the economic benefits of these advances are shared as widely as possible.
The Forum launched the Top 10 Emerging Technologies 2026 report, which identified breakthrough innovations expected to achieve real-world impact within five years. The meeting also saw the announcement of the 2026 Technology Pioneers cohort and latest MINDS cohort.
Initiatives focused on scaling AI adoption, financial services transformation and trusted cross-border AI infrastructure. Malaysia announced the development of a national Digital Embassies Framework to enable trusted cross-border AI infrastructure.
“The Top 10 Emerging Technologies report has an impressive track record of anticipating world changing innovations, world changing technologies, as they emerge from the labs and show their transformative potential,” said Stephan Mergenthaler, Managing Director, World Economic Forum.
“AI is restructuring workflows. It is not only improving efficiency, but creating new demands and solving problems that previously we were not able to solve,” said Zhou Yuxiang, Chief Executive Officer, Black Lake Technologies.
“One of the key drivers of ensuring access to medicines is looking at how to evolve healthcare infrastructure and the way in which healthcare is delivered,” said Giovanni Caforio, Chair of the Board of Directors, Novartis, Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026. “Whenever innovation accelerates and the potential benefit to patients is significantly greater; it is an imperative for all of us to work together even more and even better than before.”
“You can put all the technology you want in your stack, but unless you develop your people, it is wasted,” said Padraig McDonnell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Agilent, Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026. “Technology doesn’t enable itself; it enables people in the factory to do a better job.”
How can growth create jobs and opportunities for the next generation?
An estimated 40% of global employment is exposed to AI, highlighting the scale of the workforce transition ahead. Meeting this challenge will require investment in the enabling infrastructure, education, skills development and regulatory environments that allow entrepreneurship to flourish, new industries to emerge, and jobs to be created.
Leaders explored how emerging technologies can drive the development of new industries, focusing on how innovation can accelerate industrial growth and create new markets, enabling economies to diversify, move up value chains and unlock new sources of growth. Particular attention was given to the capabilities and partnerships needed to seize these opportunities at scale.
Reports and initiatives examined how AI, demographic change and human-machine collaboration are reshaping work. AI and the Future of Entry-Level Work focused on sustainable careers in an AI-driven economy. Other Forum work highlighted longevity as an economic opportunity, manufacturing and supply-chain jobs, gender parity in senior leadership, education’s AI readiness, inclusion lighthouses, the role of AI in social innovation in Asia and future scenarios for energy and competitiveness.
The meeting also convened over 150 Social Innovators, Young Global Leaders and Global Shapers, who brought next-generation perspectives to discussions on leadership, innovation, global cooperation and the societal implications of emerging technologies.
Technology’s potential to enrich and disrupt the global jobs market was a core theme. Participants spoke of the transformative potential of innovations like AI – but emphasized the need to prevent a “jobless growth”. Ensuring innovation comes hand in hand with job growth is achievable through broad investment, particularly in emerging economies, and by focusing on AI’s educational opportunities, participants said. Participants also reiterated the importance of gender parity throughout the design and implementation of new innovations to ensure their benefits are felt widely.
Innovation truly boosts economies once it reaches people and improves their lives, work, income and health. The next billion jobs will be created by the economies that invest as much in education, skills and entrepreneurship as in technology itself,” said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum.
“Our belief is that AI will largely augment human capability and not replace it,” said Jonas Prising, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, ManpowerGroup, Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026. “Creativity, judgement, communication and collaboration become much more important, because they leverage the benefits of human capability rather than compete with technology.”
“Guinea and China have engaged in strategic cooperation, which has generated fiscal revenue for Guinea and benefited our infrastructure,” said Amadou Oury Bah, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister of Guinea.
“The more data and the more science that goes into the decisions made by farmers and policy-makers, the better,” said Svein Tore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer, Yara International, Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026. “Nowhere is that more relevant now than in China, because it is a huge food producer, a leader in technology and also a leader on speed of deployment.”
“We talk about women’s participation, but participation is not the same as having the power to influence the future,” said Carol Yu, Founding Partner and Associate Dean, Shenzhen InnoX Academy. “Can women really catch this moment to be not just users, but shapers of the future?”
How can we align energy and climate systems to drive a source of competitiveness?
The demand for cleaner, cheaper and more secure energy systems is intensifying, especially as populations and their energy needs grow, driven in part by technology’s energy requirements from data centres to AI infrastructure.
Climate, biodiversity and water considerations are increasingly informing strategies that strengthen resilience, enhance competitiveness and guide long-term investment.
Participants highlighted how energy shocks like that of the Strait of Hormuz underscore the vulnerabilities in the global energy system and that countries that master this transition stand to gain a significant competitive advantage. Investment in batteries, grid upgrades and other transition-related innovations were identified as growth and resilience multipliers.
The Forum’s Energy Transition Index 2026, however, found that geopolitical tensions, supply disruptions and rising demand are fragmenting the global energy landscape, with transition readiness declining despite record investment. The meeting also showcased solutions to accelerate the deployment of future-ready power systems. New partners, including from China, joined the First Movers Coalition. Discussions also connected energy security and competitiveness with climate and nature resilience, including mounting pressures from biodiversity loss and water scarcity.
“Industry decarbonization and the protection of natural systems are no longer only environmental priorities; they are becoming economic and security imperatives,” said Sebastian Buckup, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “This meeting has created important momentum to scale the technologies, infrastructure, finance and partnerships needed to move from ambition to implementation.”
“The global energy landscape is going through profound changes defined by geopolitical tensions and energy restructuring,” said Liu Xiaoming, Governor of Hainan Province, People’s Republic of China. “We need more than infrastructure to overcome this challenge. Technology is also critical.”
“In the same way that solar is competitive today, and was not 30 years ago, we can do the same by replacing diesel and jet fuel,” said Ester Baiget, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novonesis, Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026. “We just need predictability on demand.”
“We have to understand the necessity of the trend of renewable energy, while on the other hand, we have to be adaptive and have solutions for the vulnerability and the complexity of the grid,” said Zhang Wenfeng, President, State Grid Corporation of China, Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026. “We have to guarantee the safety of the supply, while promoting the orderly development of renewable energy at the same time.”
“Africa sits at the convergence of key megatrends, including a fast-growing population, the critical minerals required for technology and abundant renewable energy sources,” said Samaila Zubairu, President and Chief Executive Officer, Africa Finance Corporation, Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026.
“You need two major ingredients to develop alternative energy infrastructure. One is policy stability to stay the course,” said Leila Benali, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Morocco. “The second is to bring in the financial community to take more risks in energy infrastructure, including energy connectivity between continents.”
