Nearly 3,000 world leaders, chief executives, men of mark and civil society representatives from 117 countries around the world are set to gather in the Swiss mountain town of Davos and cast about for ways to deal with the major challenges facing the world today. They include economic growth, the wealth gap, political polarization and the climate crisis. 

The 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, whose theme is Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World, will take place from January 21 through 24. 

Dignitaries expected to make their debut at this grand invent include Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. U.S. President Donald Trump, who was kept home last year due to a partial government shutdown, will be present. 

Huawei CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei will also attend on the sidelines of the WEF to discuss how societies share the fruits of technological innovation amid the 4th Industrial Revolution redefining global strategic competition. 

Stakeholder concepts

The meeting aims to establish the status of stakeholder concepts in addressing major challenges facing the world, from the likes of social divisions caused by the wealth gap and political polarization, as well as the imminent climate crisis. 

The Davos Manifesto published in 1973 declared "the purpose of professional management is to serve clients, shareholders, workers and employees, as well as societies, and to harmonize the different interests of the stakeholders." 

Delegates will seek to formulate a Davos Manifesto 2020 to outline the vision of stakeholder concepts revolving around pivotal contemporary issues such as fair taxation, zero tolerance for corruption, executive compensation and respect for human rights. 

World Economic Forum Executive Chairman and founder Klaus Schwab on January 14 called on companies to fully embrace the stakeholder concept. "It means not only maximizing profits, but use their capabilities and resources in cooperation with governments and civil society to address the key issues of this decade. They have to actively contribute to a more cohesive and sustainable world." 

Last year's U.S. Business Roundtable, the country's most influential business lobby group, gained signatures from 181 U.S. chief executives, marking the shift away from shareholder primacy. 

Fragile growth outlook 

A topsy-turvy 2019 permeated by trade wars and geopolitical tensions leaves Davos attendees to grapple with the necessity of fresh stimulus efforts and who should take the lead: governments or central banks? 

The IMF cited "trade barriers" as a key reason for cutting its economic expansion forecasts last autumn, and could lower its outlook further in its latest outlook, to be published on Monday. 

The World Bank in its January 2020 Global Economic Prospects projected the global growth forecast for 2020 will settle at 2.5 percent, with growth among advanced economies as a group to slip to 1.4 percent, citing "downside risks to the global outlook predominate, and their materialization could slow growth substantially." 

"Low global interest rates provide only a precarious protection against financial crises," said World Bank Prospects Group Director Ayhan Kose. "The history of past waves of debt accumulation shows that these waves tend to have unhappy endings. In a fragile global environment, policy improvements are critical to minimize the risks associated with the current debt wave." 

Trump surprises? 

Trump is undoubtedly the focus at this year's Davos Forum. In 2018, he became the first incumbent U.S. president to appear at the elite Davos forum in nearly 20 years, but his "America First" speech apparently made the audience feels uncomfortable. What "Trump surprise" will there be this time? 

Unlike other leaders at Davos, Trump can be depicted as "crawling forward with heavy baggage" given his poor political reputation. The impeachment trial put him under severe political scrutiny at home and makes him one of the most controversial world leaders at the forum this year. The BBC reported that Trump will deliver a speech on Tuesday, the same day the U.S. Senate will begin its impeachment trial. 

The Financial Times wrote that given the president signed the first phase of his renegotiated deal with China last week, he may take a softer tone at the grand event. On the other side, as tensions mount, he is expected to meet with EU leader Ursula von der Leyen in Davos out of Washington's most immediate concern over France's plan to impose a 3-percent digital services tax.