At a critical juncture for the world economy, over 1,700 leaders from business, government, business, civil society, academia, international organizations, media, and innovators gathered at the World Economic Forum’s 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2025 took place from 24 to 26 June 2025 in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China to explore entrepreneurial solutions to global challenges.
Under the theme “Entrepreneurship for a New Era”, next-generation leaders and entrepreneurs explored how to harness the power of emerging technologies and entrepreneurship in relation to economic resilience, industry transformation, and sustainability, stated in the World Economic Forum (WEF) press release.
Through high-level dialogues and action-oriented discussions, the meeting helped leaders navigate the new geo-economic context, crafted new business models, and forged new partnerships to fully realize the potential of emerging technologies and unlock new levers for growth.
Sessions focussed special attention on emerging markets as well as the trends shaping Asian economies and China’s economic outlook, it reads.
“In a shifting global landscape, technology is the key to driving shared progress,” said Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman and interim of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum.
“In a world marked by increasing fragmentation, only through co-creation and deep collaboration across sectors and regions can we build resilient solutions that benefit all,” said Børge Brende, President and CEO, World Economic Forum.
“Changes and transformations are often accompanied by restructuring and reshaping,” said Li Qiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China. “The world economy of tomorrow will not be a simple repetition of stories of the past,” he said.
“Collectively I think we can make a difference,” said Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of Singapore. “We can lay the groundwork for a new and more stable global order,” he said.
“The world today is evolving very quickly, especially with new technologies, and we really have to focus on social fairness, social equity, and really promote our human capital,” said Ousmane Sonko, Prime Minister of Senegal.
“If you want to have GDP growth, you need to have a rise in productivity,” said Annette Mosman, Group Chief Executive Officer, APG Group. “I think AI is the way to get there,” she said.
The meeting focused on five thematic pillars: deciphering the world economy, the outlook on China, industries disrupted, investing in people and planet, and new energy and materials.
Over 70 leaders from ASEAN and China discussed new areas for quality cross-regional growth, while leaders from Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and China debated how to navigate current trade volatility and pursue practical global economic collaboration, further reads the release.
