What’s new: Premier Li Qiang will attend the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week, while paying an official visit to the host country, the Chinese foreign ministry announced.
Li is expected to attend the opening of the annual event, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a press briefing Thursday. He is scheduled to speak on Jan. 16, according to the forum’s website.
“We look to increase exchanges and communication and enhance mutual understanding and trust with other parties to the forum to contribute our part to better global economic recovery and governance and joint response to challenges,” Mao said, according to a statement from the ministry.
Li will also make an official visit to Ireland during his time in Europe from Sunday to Wednesday. The ministry did not specify when.
China hopes to deepen cooperation with the two countries and add new contributions to the “sound and steady growth of China-Europe relations” during Li’s visits, the statement said.
What’s more: Attendees will include the likes of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as well as leaders of countries embroiled in conflict such as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to the organizer.
They are among the roughly 2,800 people from 120 countries attending this year’s event. Davos has not fully recovered to its pre-pandemic levels, having drawn over 3,000 attendees in January 2020.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
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