CHINA> News
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CHINA> News
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Global challenges in spotlight at third WEF
By Wang Jinghai (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-11 07:49 This green initiative will be highly visible to the delegates at this year's Summer Davos. About 60 percent of the cars providing transportation for the event are now designated as either energy-efficient or "new energy" vehicles. Rising reputation Xia said hosting the forum has already helped bring new opportunities and benefits to the city: "One of the tangible benefits is that local businesses are better positioned to secure more cooperative projects. A more intangible, yet far-reaching benefit, is that hosting the event considerably boosts the city's international profile."
After the first session in 2007, a number of important foreign funding projects were attracted to Dalian. Several international brands also set up facilities in the city, including British Telecom, Intel, the Citibank and the Standard Chartered Bank. Due to its growing influence, other high-level international conference organizers have sought to establish cooperative ventures with the city. This has represented a considerable boost to its service sector and led to its rapid growth. Xia said this year's meeting has coincided with a special period in Dalian's development and represented "the third historic opportunity in the city's history".
The city received its first growth opportunity when it was listed as one of the initial batch of 14 coastal cities designated as part of the country's opening up program back in 1984. The second chance occurred when the central government launched a development strategy aimed at reviving the outmoded industrial bases in northeast China. The city seized on the initiative and was one of the key beneficiaries of its success. A third historic opportunity has now emerged as the State Council has adopted a new initiative aimed at boosting the economic infrastructure of Liaoning, Dalian's home province. This new scheme will rejuvenate the province's coastal belt, with Dalian playing a pivotal role. Xia said local authorities will take the opportunity of the Summer Davos to introduce the advantages of the provincial coastal economic belt and promote Dalian's cooperative potential to prospective overseas partners. Origin The Summer Davos and its winter counterpart are large-scale international conferences organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The "Davos" branding is taken from the name of the small town in Switzerland where the first winter forum was held. The WEF, founded in 1971, is a non-official international organization, which aims to research and discuss global economic issues and promote international economic cooperation and exchanges. It is best known for its annual meeting in Davos, which has been described as the "Economic United Nations" by the media. Its participants include government, industry and opinion formers from all around the world. In 2007 China's rapid development and its rising number of growth-oriented enterprises prompted the WEF to launch an annual forum in the country, mainly targeted at rapidly growing companies demonstrating considerable potential. The event gives these "new champions" a platform to meet and talk with more mature businesses - as a result it is frequently referred to as the "Annual Meeting of the New Champions." In September 2007, the first annual meeting of the New Champions was held in Dalian. The second event in the series was held in Tianjin in September 2008. This year, the third Summer Davos has returned to Dalian.
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