HSK - Summer Davos to put Dalian on business map

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Summer Davos to put Dalian on business map

Updated: 2007-08-01 06:40




Dalian, a coastal city in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, is poised
for a place on the world business map this summer when it hosts the
Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions, known as the "Summer
Davos". The meeting, organized by the World Economic Forum and the
Chinese government, is expected to offer a new platform for interaction
and collaboration between business leaders, technology pioneers and
senior officials from different countries. Xia Deren, mayor of Dalian,
spoke with China Daily reporter Wang Xu about the concept of New
Champions and Dalian's preparation for the Summer Davos.

Q: What's the difference between the "Summer Davos" and the winter one?

A: The World Economic Forum held in Davos of Switzerland draws leaders
from business, government and international institutions each year to
exchange opinions and ideas. The themes of the event are usually the
hottest economic and political topics of the year.

Now the world economy has entered a phase of development, as more and
more new companies are emerging and reshaping the landscape of the
business world. The Summer Davos, titled Annual Meeting of the New
Champions, is expected to provide an opportunity for these new champions
to exchange opinions on the latest issues of the world, such as energy,
education, environment and technology.

The "new champions", as we call them, are a new generation of companies
that will fundamentally change the global competitive landscape. They
typically have an annual turnover between $2 billion and $4 billion, and
no less than 15 percent year-on-year growth.

Q: Who are the participants in the Summer Davos and what's the main
agenda?

A: The Summer Davos will be held on September 6 to 8 in Dalian. During
the three-day event, there will be a "global young leaders' conference",
which will invite 300 young political, scientific and cultural leaders to
discuss issues such as leadership and social responsibility.

Meanwhile, three informal ministerial summits and a public health summit
will allow participants to exchange opinions on the main obstacles of
sustainable growth in the world.

At the same time, participants will also attend a total of 60 sessions
covering the major topics of the global economic growth such as corporate
governance, finance, information, capital, service and human resources.

So far, the World Economic Forum has invited the leaders from 24
countries and 120 ministers to attend the Summer Davos. We plan to invite
2,000 formal representatives, including CEOs from Fortune 1,000
companies, mayors from the most competitive cities in the world and
national leaders from the fastest-growing countries.

For the time being, there are more than 600 representatives registered
for the forum, including Craig Barrett, chairman of the board of Intel
Corporation, and Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health
Organization.

Q: There were actually several cities in China keen to hold the Summer
Davos. How did Dalian win the bid?

A: First, Dalian is an important port, industrial, trade and tourism city
in northern China and has become the largest destination for foreign
investment in Northeast China.

Dalian has been famous for its beautiful coastal view and its
environment. At the same time, Dalian has excellent hospitality
facilities; with seven five-star and 21 four-star hotels. There will be
more than 1,000 volunteers for the event, who can speak English,
Japanese, Korean and other languages.

Q: How about local enterprises' response to the Summer Davos?

A: Domestic companies have been quite interested in attending the event.
As we have mentioned, a great deal of multinational companies will gather
in Dalian at that time, and the meeting is a great platform for any
business cooperation.

There will be more than 60 sessions during the Summer Davos. Some of the
topics such as corporate governance and management could offer great
insights for improving companies' competitiveness. The organizer of the
World Economic Forum has visited more than 10 cities in China, including
Qingdao, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. A number of Chinese Fortune 500
companies, such as Sinopec, CNOOC and China Mobile, will be coming to the
event.


Q: How will Dalian present itself to the world during the Summer Davos?

A: There will be more than 8,000 guests coming to Dalian during the
Summer Davos. I am sure they will be impressed by the beautiful city. At
the same time, more than 1,000 domestic and foreign reporters will also
come to report the event, which will help audience around the world know
more about the city.

Meanwhile, we will organize a series of salons and forums to promote
face-to-face exchanges between Dalian and multinational companies, trying
to introduce them to Dalian's outstanding investment environment.


(China Daily 08/01/2007 page14)
















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