The applause for China at Davos is sincere: Global Times editorial

By Global Times

Published: Jan 21, 2026

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202601/1353764.shtml

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 opened on January 19 in Davos, Switzerland. This year's forum was widely regarded as facing severe challenges. An official press release mentioned "the most complex geopolitical backdrop in decades" and "rising fragmentation," while the Global Risks Report 2026, published ahead of the opening, pointed out that "geoeconomic confrontation has emerged as the most severe risk" for 2026. Despite these challenges, the meeting set a record for the highest number of participating leaders and senior government officials in the forum's history. This indicates that the stronger the countercurrents of unilateralism and protectionism, the greater the international call to uphold multilateralism and safeguard the international order.

On January 20 local time, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council He Lifeng, delivered a speech at the Davos Forum. He said that in January 2017, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the World Economic Forum, which China has seriously implemented, demonstrating firm support for multilateralism and free trade. In recent years, President Xi has put forward four major global initiatives, providing Chinese solutions to address the common challenges facing the world. In his address at the forum, He Lifeng outlined four key points: firmly supporting free trade, steadfastly upholding multilateralism, adhering to win-win cooperation, and promoting mutual respect and equal consultation. China's firm stance was met with sincere and enthusiastic applause at Davos.

Multilateralism and free trade remain the prevailing aspirations of the international community, and China has always stood on the right side of history. The Global Cooperation Barometer released by the World Economic Forum shows that, despite the strong headwinds facing multilateralism, global cooperation still demonstrates a certain level of resilience. From international cooperation on climate change, to global discussions on AI governance, to developing countries' demands for fair development, all point to one conclusion: only unity and cooperation can effectively address global challenges.

In a world of growing uncertainty, China has consistently upheld moral principles and practiced opening-up and cooperation, choosing to do what is difficult yet right. 

As the world's second-largest economy, China has followed through on its commitments and always acted as a responsible major country, firmly safeguarding multilateralism and promoting economic globalization toward a more universally beneficial and inclusive direction. The Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development clearly commits to expanding high-standard opening-up and steadily advancing institutional opening-up. From the expansion of pilot free trade zones to the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port, and from the China International Import Expo to the China International Fair for Trade in Services, China's door to opening-up continues to open wider, offering vast market opportunities for global businesses. 

World Economic Forum President Borge Brende has noted that China is doubling down on investment in research, development and innovation, and that "technologies can represent huge opportunities for productivity gains and also growth in the years to come. And China is a major contributor to that."

Prior to the forum, China released its economic data for 2025. Amid the ongoing turbulence in the global situation, the strong resilience of the Chinese economy and its positive role in areas such as global economic governance have received widespread praise. In the face of a complex and severe international environment and the domestic tasks of reform, development, and maintaining stability, the Chinese economy has continuously signaled steady progress, becoming an important force in promoting healthy global development. China actively participates in the reform and construction of the global governance system and insists on following a path of peaceful development. China's development practice fully demonstrates that countries can handle with state-to-state relations and achieve revitalization through peaceful means and that nations with different social systems and development paths can fully respect each other and achieve win-win cooperation.

This year, the forum's opening ceremony deliberately replaced the guest speeches of previous years with a concert. The forum's official explanation stated that this reflects the "spirit of dialogue" because "music knows no borders, it speaks no single language." The development of human civilization has repeatedly proven that confrontation can only bring destruction and regression, while dialogue and cooperation can create prosperity and progress. The postwar international order was established based on a cherishing of peace and has brought unprecedented long-term peace and development opportunities to the world. Today, as this order faces severe challenges, the international community should return to its original intention, insisting on resolving differences through dialogue rather than confrontation, and addressing conflicts through negotiation rather than pressure.

The greater the storm and snow, the more we need someone to guide the way forward. In this era full of uncertainty, China remains a stable "ballast." We do not engage in exclusive "cliques"; what we offer is a commitment to opening up a market of over 1.4 billion people, shared technological and innovation dividends with the world, and a steadfast adherence to international fairness and justice. 

The profound changes in the international situation will once again prove that multilateralism is the right path for humanity.