World Economic Forum: Premier Li Qiang set to put China’s best foot forward amid economic recovery concerns
- Premier Li Qiang is expected to address the World Economic Forum’s 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions on Tuesday in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin
- Recent data suggests China’s economy is facing prolonged challenges, including weak consumption, low investment, rising youth unemployment and sluggish exports
Premier Li Qiang is set to assure some 1,500 global leaders, foreign investors and private entrepreneurs about the state of China’s economic recovery during Tuesday’s opening speech at a key economic forum despite recent figures showing signs of struggle.
Li, who just returned from his first overseas trip as premier, has been on a campaign to lure foreign businesses and private investment, and to boost their confidence in China.
He will address the World Economic Forum’s 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, often called the Summer Davos, in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin.
The three-day event, which is being held in person for the first time in three years, will focus on the theme of “entrepreneurship: a driver of the world economy”.
“Since the word ‘entrepreneurship’ is put at the centre of the forum, we can probably expect the premier to set the tone for a long-awaited reform package aimed at supporting the private sector,” said Xu Tianchen, an economist with the Economist Intelligence Unit.
It would be very optimistic if he would take the chance to introduce some substantial policies to boost economic growth for the second half of the year
Analysts said Beijing is under pressure to prepare an optimistic message to boost confidence to the international audience – a message that has been repeated since China earlier this year prioritised economic recovery after three years of stringent coronavirus measures.
