The World Economic Forum is a non-profit foundation, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The idea was conceived by German professor Klaus Schwab in 1971.
The forum is best known for its annual meeting at the end of January in a mountain resort in Davos. The meeting brings together thousands of top businessmen, international political leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world.
In 2007, the foundation established the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also called Summer Davos. The gathering is held annually in China, alternating between Dalian and Tianjin. The forum brings together 1,500 influential top players of what the foundation calls Global Growth Companies, primarily from rapidly growing emerging countries such as China, India, Russia, Mexico, and Brazil. The meeting also engages with the next generation of global leaders from fast-growing regions and competitive cities, as well as technology pioneers from around the globe.
The history between WEF and China can be traced back to 1979, when the ‘European Management Forum’–the WEF’s former name, officially set up a cooperative relationship with the Chinese government in Beijing. Two years later, the forum co-hosted the first International Symposium on Business Management with the China Enterprise Confederation. From 1983, China started to send delegations to the forum. Those groups include high-level representatives from both the political arena and business community.
