World Economic Forum: China Looms Large

There couldn't have been a more interesting time to hold the World Economic Forum Summer Davos 2008, which ran Sept. 26-28 in the eastern coastal port city of Tianjin, China. Just like at Davos, the organization's main event held every winter in the eponymous Swiss ski resort, the forum brought together a mix of business leaders, pundits, and policymakers, including Citigroup (C) Vice-Chairman William Rhodes, Ernst & Young CEO James Turley, and Lenovo Chairman Yang Yuanqing. Also attending were China Mobile (CHL) chief Wang Jianzhou, TCL CEO Li Dongsheng, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, and European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.

And, as at Davos, there were the innumerable panel discussions, closed-door sessions, and networking as delegates, speakers, and journalists met throughout the sprawling convention center and at a scattering of hotel bars. But what made the second annual Summer Davos in China different, of course (last year's was held in the northeastern coastal city of Dalian), was the backdrop: first, a grimy, largely industrial port city—a far cry from the snow-clad Alps of Davos; much more importantly, the unprecedented turmoil in the world's financial system that dominated discussion for the 2,000 attendees. "Confidence is more important than the gold and currency at the moment," said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during the keynote address on Sept. 27.