Brief Notes: At the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrives late but quickly sets the tone with a pointed warning against tariff hikes and escalating trade wars under President Donald Trump. In a wide-ranging address, he defends free trade and multilateralism, arguing that economic confrontation harms both sides and undermines global growth. He highlights China’s commitment to inclusive globalization, WTO-centered rules, and dialogue-based cooperation with the United States and other partners.
TRANSCRIPT:
Apology for Late Arrival
HE LIFENG: First, an apology. Because of the intense traffic, I was a little bit late. Sorry about that.
Chairman André Hoffmann, Chairman Laurence Fink, President Børge Brende, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, friends, good morning.
It gives me great pleasure to join you in beautiful Davos for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. Under the theme of spirit of dialogue, it is timely that we listen to each other, learn from each other, and build stronger trust with each other.
President Xi’s Davos Legacy
In 2017, facing backlash against globalization, President Xi Jinping gave an incisive answer to the question “what has gone wrong with the world and what should we do about it” here in Davos. As he pointed out, “any attempt to channel the waters in the ocean back into isolated lakes and creeks is simply not possible and runs counter to the historical trend.” His important speech offered much enlightenment and brought the world some sunshine as the World Economic Forum described.
In 2021, President Xi proposed that “we should let the torch of multilateralism light up humanity’s way forward.” One year later, on the major question of how to rebuild from COVID, President Xi underscored that “amidst the rage and torrents of a global crisis, countries are not riding separately in some 190 small boats but are rather all in a giant ship on which our shared destiny hinges.”
Over nine years, guided by President Xi’s important remarks, China has consistently acted on the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity and remained steadfast in supporting multilateralism and free trade. Today, President Xi’s insights continue to resonate and remain as inspiring as ever.
Global Challenges and China’s Response
As we speak, transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the world. Rising unilateralism and protection compounded by the impacts of regional conflicts and geopolitics are bringing new changes to the global economic and trade order. In particular, since last year, tariffs and trade wars have inflicted significant shocks on the world economy and posed serious challenges to multilateralism and free trade.
In response to the changes of the world, of our times, and in the dynamics, President Xi has put forward the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and last year, the Global Governance Initiative, pulling consensus and strength for solidarity and cooperation over division and confrontation and providing China’s solution to the common problems of the world.
In light of the current situation, I wish to share a few observations.
Supporting Free Trade and Economic Globalization
First, we should firmly support free trade and jointly promote a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.
Economic globalization, driven by international specialization, collaboration, complementary strength, and the pursuit of win-win is a prevailing trend of history. It has benefited many countries, including China, and enabled them to achieve fast development.
On the contrary, tariffs and trade wars have no winners. Beyond driving up costs for production and trade, they fragment the world economy and disrupt the global distribution of resources. WTO data shows that the share of global trade under most favored nation terms has dropped from 80% at the beginning of last year to 72%. The IMF estimates that economic fragmentation can reduce global economic output by about 7%. That is in no country’s interest.
While economic globalization is not perfect and may cause some problems, we cannot completely reject it and retreat to self-imposed isolation. The right approach should be and can only be to find solutions together through dialogue and steer economic globalization in the correct direction.
China advocates a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. We are committed to building bridges, not walls. We will firmly support trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and continue to share development opportunities with the world. We will work with all parties to create a bright future of prosperity and development where every country and every community shares the dividends of development.
Safeguarding Multilateralism
Second, we should firmly safeguard multilateralism and make the international economic and trade order more just and equitable. The multilateral trading system now faces the most serious challenges in years.
The unilateral acts and trade deals of certain countries clearly violate the fundamental principles and rules of the WTO and severely impact the global economic and trade order. As President Xi Jinping noted, at difficult times, we must uphold our original commitment to peaceful coexistence and strengthen our confidence in win-win cooperation.
Multilateralism is the right way to keep the international order stable and promote humanities development and progress. The rules must apply equally to everyone. A handful of countries should not enjoy privileges based on their strength, and the world must not return to the law of the jungle where the strong bully the weak. Every country is entitled to defend its legitimate rights and interests.
Since joining the WTO, China has strictly followed the organization’s rules, earnestly fulfilled its commitments, and taken voluntary steps to contribute more. Last year, it solemnly announced that it will not seek new, special, and differential treatment in current and future negotiations at the WTO.
China will continue to firmly uphold the WTO-centered, rules-based multilateral trading system and firmly support the reforms of multilateral institutions, including the WTO and the IMF, with a view to enhancing the authority, effectiveness, and inclusiveness of the multilateral trading system and increasing the representation of the Global South and developing countries. China is glad to see countries reaching trade agreements that are mutually beneficial, but these agreements should comply with WTO rules and not undermine the interests of third parties.
Making the Pie Bigger Together
Third, we should pursue win-win cooperation, work together to make the pie bigger, and jointly resolve development issues.
Currently, world economic growth is lacking momentum. The IMF forecasts global growth of 3.1% for 2026, which is below the pre-COVID average of 3.7%.
What is more worrying is that unfairness continues to grow and sustainable development is facing severe challenges. According to a UN report, two-thirds of the sustainable development goals will not be met by 2030.
The pursuit of development should not be a you-lose-I-win zero-sum game. Rather, every party should play its part and get its fair share. Making the pie bigger together is more important than fighting for the pie, and solving problems together is more effective than blaming each other.
China is committed to fostering common prosperity with its trading partners through its own development and making the pie bigger for global economy and trade. We never seek trade surplus. On top of being the world’s factory, we hope to be the world’s market too. However, in many cases, when China wants to buy, others don’t want to sell. Trade issues often become security hurdles.
On the other hand, services now account for two-thirds of global GDP. China has recorded a large deficit in its services trade over the long term, but it never feels being taken advantage of. We will give full play to our supersized market, step up our efforts to expand import and strengthen industrial cooperation so that countries can better share in China’s opportunities.
Managing Differences Through Dialogue
Fourth, we should uphold mutual respect and equal-footed consultation and manage differences and solve problems through dialogue. Last year, economic and trade relations between China and the United States went through some ups and downs. Guided by the common understandings of the two presidents from their meeting in Busan and four phone calls, Chinese and U.S. teams had five rounds of consultation and economic trade issues.
Following the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, they properly handled some outstanding issues and kept the economic and trade relationship generally stable. Facts have demonstrated once again that China and the United States will gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, and that they should and can help each other succeed and prosper together.
The trade talks also showed that as long as the two sides engage in equal-footed consultation and work in the same direction, there will always be more solutions than problems.
To be frank, it’s normal for countries with different social systems, stages of development, histories, and cultures to encounter divergences and frictions as they develop and interact. But sometimes these are merely misunderstandings.
Building Trust Through Dialogue, Not Confrontation
HE LIFENG: The key is to uphold the spirit of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, build trust through dialogue, and resolve disputes through consultation. Instead of looking for answers from confrontation or antagonism, we must find a way out through communication and consultation and explore the path of win-win and all-win. China is a trading partner, not a rival for other countries, and China’s development presents an opportunity, not a threat, to the world economy. When it comes to differences and misunderstandings in international economic and trade cooperation, China calls for equal consultation to enhance mutual trust, bridge differences, and solve problems.
China’s Economic Progress Over Five Years
HE LIFENG: Ladies and gentlemen, friends, over the past five years, the Chinese economy has made steady progress. We have deepened reform and opening up, continued to expand the consumer market, made solid headway in developing new quality productive forces, and accelerated the green and low-carbon transition. With an average annual growth rate of around 5.4 percent, China’s economy has expanded to 140 trillion RMB, contributing approximately 30 percent to global economic growth.
Over the past five years, China has imported over 15 trillion U.S. dollars worth of goods and services. This investment has generated over 300 billion U.S. dollars of tax revenue, created numerous jobs, and boosted local economic growth. The Chinese economy is on solid foundations, demonstrating advantages in many areas, strong resilience, and great potential. China’s development has been achieved mainly through reform, opening up, and innovation, rather than so-called government subsidies.
Admittedly, we do face some old and new problems and challenges, but they are predominantly the growing pains of our development and transition, and we are working hard on them, and we are fully confident and capable of tackling all kinds of risks and challenges.
The 15th Five-Year Plan and New Development Philosophy
HE LIFENG: Last October, the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held its fourth plenary session and adopted the recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan, laying out the top-level design and strategic blueprint for China’s economic and social development in the next five years. China will further apply the new development philosophy of innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development put forward by President Xi Jinping, work faster to foster a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other, fully tap into the potential of our supersized market with 1.4 billion people, and strive for new progress in high-quality development.
We will improve our market rules and institutional safeguards and provide more opportunities for.
Expanding Domestic Demand and Consumer Market Opportunities
HE LIFENG: China will actively expand domestic demand and share with the world the opportunities in its vast market. Currently, China is the world’s second-largest consumer market, and in many segments, such as automobile, mobile phone, and home appliances, it is already the largest one, but its per capita consumer spending is still below that of developed economies.
As China’s middle-income group continues to grow, there will be more and more diverse needs for a higher quality of life, which means immense potential for consumption. Domestic demand on top of its economic agenda this year, and is working faster on an income growth plan for both urban and rural residents to vigorously boost consumption and make itself a consumption powerhouse on top of a manufacturing powerhouse.
China will continuously promote investment in both physical assets and in human capital, actively expand investment and consumption in such areas as education, medical services and elderly care, and create more space for consumption. We will continue to host events such as the China International Import Expo, further expand import and encourage more quality products across the globe to enter the Chinese market.
We encourage businesses from around the world to seize the opportunities presented by our expanding domestic demand, provide more and better products and services, and further explore China’s consumer market so as to gain a head start in the fierce international competition.
Commitment to High-Standard Opening Up
HE LIFENG: China will steadfastly expand opening up and share with the world the opportunities from its high-standard opening up. Reform and opening up is China’s fundamental state policy. China will open its door still wider to the world.
China will actively expand voluntary opening up, align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, expand market access and open more areas, particularly in the service sector, and step up our efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment. China will continue to foster a market-oriented, law-based and world-class business environment, provide equal treatment for both domestic and foreign-invested enterprises, and make the demand list of businesses a service list of the government. Should foreign enterprises encounter any problems in China, please do not hesitate to inform us and we will actively address them.
China is committed to deepening international industrial specialization and collaboration, keeping global industrial and supply chains secure and stable, and building a global market of shared benefits. We welcome foreign enterprises to invest in China and share in China’s opportunities. We also hope governments of other countries can provide a fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable investment environment for Chinese enterprises.
Accelerating Innovation and Technology Cooperation
China will accelerate sci-tech innovation and share with the world the opportunities from its innovation-driven development. The latest round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is unfolding at a faster pace, creating new historical opportunities. Innovation is an essential engine for China’s high-quality economic development, and Chinese modernization must be underpinned by modernization in science and technology.
Currently, China has the biggest number of researchers and international patent applications. There are diverse scenarios for application and a sound environment for innovation. Now AI is empowering various sectors. China will continue to promote full integration between technological and industrial innovation, strengthen the protection and application of international property rights, and stimulate the vitality of all innovators.
Scientific and technological progress cannot be achieved without international cooperation, and innovation brings both opportunities and risks. China is ready to work with all other countries in the spirit of openness and cooperation to advance sci-tech innovation, empower the world economy, and address global challenges in such areas as AI governance. China’s innovation-driven development not only serves itself but also benefits the world. We welcome companies from around the world to deepen cooperation with China on innovation and sharing the opportunities presented by innovation-driven development.
Green Development and Climate Commitments
China will pursue green development and share with the world the opportunities from green and low-carbon transition. At the UN Climate Summit last September, President Xi Jinping solemnly announced China’s 2035 nationally determined contributions. This is the first time that China put forward an absolute emissions reduction target, which is a testament to China’s firm resolve and maximum effort.
China has put in place the world’s largest renewable energy system and the most complete new energy industrial chain. We will control both the total amount and intensity of carbon emissions across the board and strive to achieve carbon peaking before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. China will work with all other parties to fully and effectively implement the UNFCCC Paris Agreement, uphold the multilateral process on climate change, and actively promote global green and low-carbon development.
China will work with all parties to foster closer partnerships for green development, address the shortfall in green production capacity, and ensure the free flow of quality green products globally. We invite enterprises from all over the world to embrace the opportunities from green and low-carbon tradition, work closely with China in such areas as green infrastructure, green energy, green minerals, and green finance, and jointly create a green and prosperous future.
Closing Remarks: Cooperation and Shared Future
Ladies and gentlemen, friends, the wisdom of Davos lies in dialogue, and the future of the world hinges on cooperation. As President Xi Jinping noted, “For us to break through the mist and embrace a bright future, the biggest strength comes from cooperation, and the most effective way is through solidarity.”
Let us uphold the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity, carry forward a spirit of dialogue, enhance openness and cooperation, and steer the giant ship of the world economy steadily forward on the vast blue ocean, breaking all winds and waves. Let’s build a better future for all.
I wish this annual meeting a full success. Thank you.
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