As the global economy faces mounting uncertainty, the World Economic Forum (WEF) is preparing to host its largest annual meeting to date, underscoring the growing urgency for dialogue at a time of rising tariffs, geopolitical tensions and technological disruption.

The 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will be held from January 19 to 23, in Davos, Switzerland. Nearly 3,000 leaders from more than 130 countries are expected to attend. The event is being held under the theme "A Spirit of Dialogue," reflecting the forum's emphasis on cooperation amid intensifying global fragmentation.

World Economic Forum President and CEO Borge Brende has stressed that dialogue is no longer a matter of choice but of necessity. He said that with geoeconomic competition deepening and technological change accelerating, international cooperation is entering a decisive phase, giving this year's Davos meeting particular weight.

Leaders converge as risks mount

This year's meeting will see record political participation. Around 400 top political figures, including nearly 65 heads of state and government and six of the G7's leaders, are set to attend, alongside about 850 chief executives and chairpersons of major global companies. Another 100 leaders from top unicorn firms and technology pioneers will also take part, highlighting the growing convergence of politics, business and innovation on the global agenda.

According to the WEF, attendees will include U.S. President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

China's Vice Premier He Lifeng, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will attend the forum and visit Switzerland from January 19 to 22, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said.

Corporate participation will also be extensive, with around 1,700 business leaders expected. Among them are Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, and OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar, reflecting the central role of artificial intelligence and frontier technologies in this year's discussions.

The expanded lineup comes as global risks continue to climb. Ahead of the meeting, the WEF released a report, identifying "geoeconomic confrontation" as the top short-term global risk over the next two years. The risk rose eight places from last year, the sharpest increase among all categories, with 18 percent of surveyed leaders saying it was most likely to trigger a global crisis in 2026.

Centering on five key questions

Based on responses from about 1,300 leaders across government, business and civil society, the report warned that the increasing use of tariffs, sanctions and other economic tools as instruments of geopolitical competition, combined with supply-chain fragmentation and technological decoupling, is placing a growing strain on the global economy and weakening collective crisis-response capacity.

Against this backdrop, nearly half of respondents expect the global environment to remain volatile or turbulent in the next two years, while only a small minority anticipate a return to relative stability. These expectations are shaping the Davos agenda.

Discussions at the forum will center on five key questions: How to cooperate in a more contested world; how to unlock new sources of growth; how to better invest in people; how to responsibly deploy innovation at scale; and how to achieve prosperity within planetary boundaries.

According to the WEF, debates will focus less on abstract principles and more on practical, solutions-oriented pathways, ranging from managing geopolitical risk and economic uncertainty to harnessing emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence in ways that support resilience, competitiveness and inclusive growth.

The human impact of transformation will also be a core focus. As industries shift and technologies redefine work, discussions in Davos will explore how governments and businesses can better invest in people, strengthening workforce resilience, supporting skills transitions and enhancing well-being. At the same time, leaders will address how to achieve prosperity within planetary boundaries, with an emphasis on secure energy, nature and water systems.

China's role in focus

China's role at Davos 2026 is expected to attract particular attention. As global growth remains under pressure, China is widely viewed as a key stabilizing force, driven by its push for technological innovation and efforts to expand domestic demand.

In recent years, China has accelerated industrial upgrading and continues to foster new quality productive forces, with policies aimed at building a modern industrial system anchored in innovation. These include intensified research in core technologies, the development of a unified national technology market and reforms designed to speed up the commercialization of scientific achievements.

China has also identified sectors such as integrated circuits, new materials, aerospace, biomedicine and the low-altitude economy as emerging pillars, while promoting deeper integration of artificial intelligence across manufacturing and other industries. In energy transition, China now accounts for nearly half of global photovoltaic installations, and more than half of the world's new energy vehicles are on its roads.

Huang Yiping, dean of the National School of Development at Peking University, said during last year's Summer Davos that while China lagged behind in past technological revolutions, it has the potential to be at the forefront of the AI wave, thanks to its large application market. He noted that history shows the biggest beneficiaries of industrial revolutions are often those who can rapidly and effectively apply new technologies.

At the same time, China is seeking to buffer external risks by boosting domestic demand through consumer trade-in programs, large-scale equipment upgrades, and more proactive fiscal and moderately accommodative monetary policies. Structural reforms, including those targeting state-owned enterprises and the unified national market, are also being advanced to support high-quality growth.

Beyond economics, China is also expected to reiterate its positions on global governance. Since 2021, China has proposed the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative and Global Governance Initiative, aimed at promoting a world characterized by mutual respect, shared prosperity and openness.

Chinese officials have repeatedly stated that as the world enters an era of intertwined uncertainty and transformation, China will firmly serve as a builder of world peace, a contributor to global growth, a defender of the international order, and a supporter of multilateral cooperation.