More than 1,400 attendees from business, government and other fields worldwide are in Tianjin to discuss how to achieve sustainable growth amid global economic recovery at the upcoming fourth Summer Davos forum, or the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2010.

As one of the foremost global business gatherings in Asia, the meeting, sponsored by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF), is set to be held from Monday to Wednesday in China's Tianjin Municipality, with the theme of "Driving Growth through Sustainability".

Although the world economy has been moving up from the recession since the financial crisis in 2008, the market is still unstable and the future uncertain. The meeting tries to sort out a solution to avert a double-dip recession.

The theme of the meeting will be discussed under four main pillars: improving competitiveness through science and technology; creating new value from business models and for future markets; facilitating economic and social change; and designing effective global, industry and regional solutions, according to the organizers.

A series of imperative issues are to be addressed at the meeting, including the reshaping of competitive landscape in a resource-limited world, the role of Asia's soft power, the situation of Korean peninsula, and China's responsibility to the world.

The annual meeting is one of the most eye-catching global business gatherings in Asia which attracts high ranking officials, scholars and business leaders throughout the world, especially from emerging economies and industries.

With increasing members from more regions and fields, the WEF's work is "more important than ever", said a statement from the forum's Managing Board.

The forum is seen as an important platform for addressing major global challenges, as governments, businesses and civil society organizations have seen the benefits of international cooperation in dealing with the transformational crisis, according to the statement.

"We must all focus on how to turn proposals into viable policies (at the Summer Davos this year)," said Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the WEF.

Decision-makers have to cope with tremendous time pressure and the ever-increasing complexity of issues, and the forum's role is to help to sort out priorities and to connect the relevant issues and people as much more cooperation is urgently required to master the transformational change, he said.

"We have to continue to venture to new horizons, reflecting the world as it integrates new players," said Schwab.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will attend the opening ceremony of the event and deliver a special speech, according to China's Foreign Ministry.

China hopes the forum will send a positive signal to the world and call on the international community to strive for reform through coordination and innovation and promote a strong, sustainable and balanced growth in the world economy.

The country also expects participants of the meeting to focus more on the issue of development and enhance international cooperation in this regard, according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.

Senior leaders from Iceland, Moldova, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Mongolia, Bulgaria and Cambodia will also take part in the meeting, said organizers.

"Everything is carefully organized," said Zhu Jun, director of the Tianjin Preparatory Office of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, and also an official with the Tianjin Municipal government.

This is the second time for Tianjin to host the meeting, after it held the second one in 2008 and then handed the baton to another north China port city, Dalian, in 2009. The two cities have been competing for the right to host the event on a permanent basis.

For the successful holding of the Summer Davos, Tianjin has spent 1 billion yuan (US$147 million) building a grand new meeting venue, the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center, and its affliated facilities, which is seen as its ambition to attract global attention.

China continues to lead the way among large developing economies in competitiveness rankings, improving by two more places this year, and solidifying its place among the top 30, according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011 released by the WEF prior to the meeting.

The United States falls two places to the fourth position in the rankings.

(China Daily September 13, 2010)