WEF's Summer Davos focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation

More than 1,800 delegates from over 90 countries and regions across the world are gathering in the Chinese city of Tianjin for a three-day event known as the “Summer Davos”.

Organised by the World Economic Forum, the focus this year is on how entrepreneurship and innovation can reignited growth amid concerns over the state of the global economy.

The 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2025, it is looking at five key areas: deciphering the world economy, outlook on China, industries disrupted, investing in people and the planet, and new energy and materials.

One of the highlights on the first day on Tuesday was the release of a report listing the "Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2025".

It pinpoints innovations with the potential to reshape industries and societies, and included structural battery composites, autonomous biochemical sensing, and generative AI watermarking.

These emerging technologies are expected to deliver practical results within the next three to five years and could play a pivotal role in solving imminent global challenges, the report said.

President and CEO, World Economic Forum, Borge Brende acknowledged that this year's Summer Davos is taking place against a hugely challenging geopolitical backdrop of conflicts and global tensions.

However, he said there is still significant cause for optimism about the world's economic prospects, pointing to the importance of boosting productivity, with new technologies a key driver.

“That is producing more for less and that is prosperity, that's the only way to increase people's welfare, to have more resources, to invest in education, in health and people's livelihoods,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rania Al-Mashat, Egypt's Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, said everyone knows that a big challenge for the global economy is sluggish growth.

She highlighted the urgent need to be more innovative in policymaking to tackle an increasing volatile environment that threatens future global economic growth.

“When we talk about entrepreneurship, it's not just about technology, but also entrepreneurial policymaking and trying to create resilient and innovative policy frameworks so that we are able to weather the different shocks we are facing," she said.

Artificial Intelligence was another hotly-debated topic on the opening day on Tuesday, especially given the rapid development and advancements made in China's AI-sector in recent months.

Established by the WEF in 2007, the summer event is held annually in China, alternating between the two port cities of Tianjin and Dalian.