Global governance high on Davos agenda

Leaders of some of the G20 countries will be among those attending the annual of meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland next month at which China's role in shaping global governance and driving economic progress will be high on the agenda.

A detailed agenda for the January 17-20 gathering will be announced days ahead of the meeting. In the meantime, the WEF said this week that the five critical leadership challenges facing participants were strengthening global collaboration, restoring a sense of shared identity, revitalizing economic growth, reforming capitalism and preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The annual Davos meeting began in the 1970s. In recent years, China's coastal cities of Dalian and Tianjin have rotated the hosting of summer meetings of the WEF.

January's session will be held against the backdrop of the UK preparing to leave the EU, Donald Trump's election as US president, the emergence of a protectionist mood in the West and a stalling globalization process. At Davos, global leaders will be urged to renew the systems that have supported international cooperation in the past by adapting them to today's complex world in ways that foster inclusive and equitable growth."

"Our world continues to become increasingly interdependent, even as political events signal a desire for isolation and a retreat from globalization," said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, said on Thursday.

Schwab said the world must strive to set up systems that better respond to the need for social inclusion and produce constructive answers to the multiple global challenges.

In the run-up to this year's 47th meeting in Davos, the WEF noted that responsive and responsible leadership requires recognizing that frustration and discontent are increasing in the segments of society that are not experiencing economic development and social progress.

It said their situation will only become more uncertain with the onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its impact on future employment.

Participants will consider the impact of that revolution, which drives the convergence of technologies that blur the lines between physical, digital and biological systems.

"Our interdependence will not diminish, but more agile, inclusive and collaborative responses are urgently needed to address the complexity and uncertainty in people's lives," the WEF said in a pre-Davos brief. "We must hone our capacity to manage the systems that underpin our prosperity and security."

More than 2,500 participants from nearly 100 countries will meet and participate in over 300 sessions.