The Chinese coastal city of Tianjin is becoming more open, international and innovative by hosting the annual "Summer Davos" forum every other year.
The World Economic Forum's (WEF) Annual Meeting of the New Champions, dubbed the "Summer Davos" to differentiate it from the famous Davos Forum held in the renowned Swiss town Davos, brings together business leaders from the world's top companies, governmental officials, global media tycoons, as well as reputed experts in related fields.
It has been held alternatively in the Chinese cities of Dalian and Tianjin since 2007, and the 2008 and 2010 meetings, held in Tianjin, greatly boosted the opening-up process of this historic coastal city located about 140 km away from Beijing.
The Summer Davos forum has given Tianjin valuable opportunities to win world recognition, open up its economy, and speed up its comprehensive development to meet international standards. The vigorous growth of Tianjin in recent years has convinced the world of its enormous potential and its active role in promoting world economic growth.
BECOMING A HOST OF THE SUMMER DAVOS
Tianjin is an ideal place to hold the Summer Davos forum as the city is full of charm and vitality, said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of WEF.
Thirty-six years since the establishment of WEF, the best-known unofficial international economic summit, the forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions was created in 2007 and was set to be held in China every year.
The reason for establishing a Davos forum in China, according to Schwab, was because the world's future is not solely decided by the top 500 companies, and because the emerging economies and global growth enterprises will be the new champions of the world economy.
Upon looking back, municipal leaders agree that for Tianjin, becoming a host city of the Summer Davos was an excellent choice.
MAKING THE CITY MORE OPEN AND INTERNATIONAL
From Sept. 13-15, 2010, the 4th Summer Davos forum was held in Tianjin under the theme of "Driving Growth through Sustainability," a topic that reflected the common mood at the time to seek strong, balanced and sustained growth in the post-crisis world, and the urgency of green growth to cope with climate change.
At the forum, more than 1,500 participants, including many foreign government officials, senior company executives, and leaders of public opinion, were shown the charm of the city.
World-famous media groups such as CNN, BBC, CNBC and Bloomberg also arrived to report the event, and at the same time helped to make Tianjin more popular outside China.
On the part of the organizers, the Summer Davos forum compelled the city to improve its urban appearance, conference facilities, security, accommodations, weather forecast, volunteer service, as well as transportation and medical service.
The legacy of the Summer Davos forum is a new and better Tianjin with stronger infrastructure and a more modern mindset.
Moreover, all efforts to promote Tianjin's international image and improve the quality of its facilities and services lead to more foreign investment, which in turn stimulates the city's economy and social progress.
According to official figures, Tianjin's annual utilization of foreign capital increased from 2.56 billion U.S. dollars 10 years ago to 10.8 billion dollars at present. The overall amount over the past decade reached 51.1 billion dollars.
BECOMING A LEADER IN CHINA'S REFORM AND OPENING-UP PROCESS
A large number of world-leading companies have entered Tianjin, including European aviation giant Airbus and Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk. These foreign companies have witnessed the unique appeal of Tianjin in attracting foreign investment and facilitated the opening-up process of this increasingly internationalized city.
In the second decade into the new millennium, the local government has promised that Tianjin would become an international harbor city, an economic center in the north of China, and a green city.
Tianjin's rapid development is only part of the dramatic changes happening in China since the country entered the World Trade Organization in 2001.
In the coming decade, Tianjin is committed to collaborating with other parts of China and other countries as it strives to make further economic and social progress.
