The World Economic Forum (WEF) logo is displayed during the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 20, 2026. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting opened in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday under the theme "A Spirit of Dialogue", a slogan that aptly captures both the urgency and the tension of the moment.
This year, more clearly than ever, two viewpoints are on display in Davos: one championing unilateralism, protectionism and might makes right, and the other advocating multilateralism, openness and cooperation.
On the one side, the meeting provides a stage for the participating US representatives to try to justify the US administration's coercive use of tariffs and transactional approach to geopolitics, with countries likely to be browbeaten to align with US economic priorities. On the other side are those who continue to emphasize cooperation, stable global supply chains, open markets and multilateral governance. The coexistence of these two conflicting perspectives explains why "dialogue" is the theme of this year's meeting.
With the US administration intent on demonstrating to economies that it is its way or the highway, its approach reflects Washington's belief that US power, rather than rules or consensus, can define outcomes in both the global economy and international relations.
What makes the European hosts particularly uneasy is not the thinking itself, which has appeared before in history, but the recklessness and desperation with which it is now being manifested. That has given European countries their rare experience of being on the receiving end of the US' bullying practices that when applied to other countries have been executed with the support of some of them or with their connivance.
For Europe, which has benefited profoundly from rules-based trade and multilateral global governance, the fear is not simply disagreement with Washington, but the erosion of the very foundations of postwar cooperation. The US administration's threatening of eight European countries with tariffs over their opposition to its Greenland-grab attempt has shaken Europe's confidence that their transatlantic ally has their well-being in mind.
This year's Davos meeting coincides with the first anniversary of the US leader's second presidency. A review of the past year offers sobering lessons. According to assessments by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and UN agencies, the tariff policies and unilateral trade moves of his second stint in the White House have led to global trade suffering its sharpest decline since 2020 last year, with supply chains thrown into chaos and uncertainty weighing heavily on investment decisions worldwide. These impacts have not spared the US itself, where higher costs, inflationary pressures and weakened export competitiveness have undercut the promised benefits of protectionism.
If the US is allowed to continue down this path unchecked, the damage to the world economy, green development and global governance will only increase. In this sense, the Davos meeting offers an opportunity for US decision-makers to listen: to hear the concerns of other economies, the warnings of economists, and the voices of global business leaders who understand that confrontation is a dead end.
China's message at Davos, delivered by Vice-Premier He Lifeng, offers a strikingly different vision to that espoused by the US.
In a world fraught with uncertainties and struggling to find new drivers of growth, China is willing to leverage the advantage from its "superlarge market" and "more vigorously" expand imports, Vice-Premier He said in Davos on Tuesday. As he stressed, China is the trading partner of other countries rather than an adversary, and China's development is an opportunity rather than a threat to global economic development.
China calls for more dialogue and exchanges, greater consensus for cooperation, and the practice of true multilateralism. It advocates jointly building an open world economy, promoting development that is more inclusive, resilient and beneficial for all, and injecting stability and positive energy into global growth.
China's steadfast support for openness, cooperation and green development has already made tangible contributions to global trade, sustainable development and global governance, a reality well recognized by many Davos participants as well as many world bodies, including the United Nations.
The dialogue unfolding in Davos this week should serve to show the world the potential of cooperation, shared growth and collective problem-solving. At this critical juncture in global transformation, countries have a clear choice to make between unilateralism and multilateralism.
The gathering in Davos reminds all parties that the future is still uncertain. The international community should join hands and commit to cooperation to realize a brighter shared future.
