Top takeaways from The New Champion Dialogues 

The World Economic Forum's New Champion Dialogues brought together leaders from business, government and society to look at some of the biggest challenges facing the global community.

The 'New Champions' concept has traditionally focussed on the role of entrepreneurial approaches in emerging and developed economies to drive economic, environmental and technological progress and solve global challenges.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the New Champion Dialogues.

The following takeaways have been adapted from the original Chinese language posts on Weibo.

Watch the session here.

SMEs - small- and medium-sized enterprises- represent about 90% of all firms globally and about 70% of employment and of GDP, according to some estimates. So at an aggregate level, these businesses play a significant role in enabling and shaping the nature of growth, innovation and sustainability of our global, regional and local economies. It's therefore essential that small businesses and medium-sized businesses are future-ready. In other words, they simultaneously are able to achieve high levels of growth, but also positive social impact.

Olivier M. Schwab, Managing Director, World Economic Forum

There have been profound changes in China's household services industry. For the past 30 years, China's household service sector has been dominated by small and micro enterprises, but now it has seen scaled largely by digital technology. In the context of the pandemic, China's household industry has gone from relying on face-to-face interactions to achieving digitalization.

Chen Xiaohua, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Daojia,

We have always been very remote organization, you know, the internet is a network. And so for us, having people work in ones or twos in their homes all over the world is natural. And so as a very early innovation, we were probably one of the early companies where you could find your way into open source from your home, not be an employee, prove you could do something well, and then we would hire you. But you could stay at home and work however you wanted.

Mitchell Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Mozilla Foundation,

Watch the session here.

Remote-control technology necessary for metaverse has come a long way. Digital devices, battery supporting devices and hardware have all been updated. People can attend meetings online now. In the future, this experience can be taken a step further by creating a more diverse virtual environment with the help of wearable devices and sensors.

Chen Qiufan, Chief Creative Officer of Thema Mundi Studio

Data will become a very important resource. With data applications getting more diverse, it need to be better managed and regulated while maintaining access. In the digital world, people’s rights and privacy must be respected.

Yat Siu, Chief Executive Officer, Animoca Brands Corporation Ltd

Watch the New Champion Dialogues session here.

Previous biodiversity studies show that human activities caused rapid biodiversity loss, causing a negative economic and financial impact. Therefore, central banks and financial regulators must take measures to guard against related risks. These measures include mobilizing private capital to protect nature and avoiding funding activities damaging to nature.

Ma Jun, Chairman, Green Finance Committee, China Society for Finance and Banking

Nature has given us invaluable resources like water, food, leisure and more. People should make smarter and greener business investments to protect nature. Investment in biodiversity has already reached $80 billion, sending a positive signal to the world.

Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Ambition, leadership, and partnership are needed to deal with the financial crisis and ecological challenges. Water, climate, biodiversity and food security are all interconnected. Unlocking the power of nature financing has to come from two aspects: ecological protection and wealth creation.

Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director, Centre for Nature and Climate, World Economic Forum

Watch the session here.

Against the backdrop of the current COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions, the world is facing dramatic change. Pressures from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the emergence of emerging technologies, and climate change have disrupted supply chains. It should be noted that all sectors are interlinked, that’s why countries need to redefine their situations, find win-win solutions, and help companies find a more resilient path forward.

Jeremy Jurgens, Managing Director, World Economic Forum Geneva

Globalization has slowed down recently and a trend of anti-globalization has emerged. Global businesses have been significantly affected, and many multinational companies have adjusted their strategies for the future. Many of the challenges we face stem from the impact on the supply chain and changes in the value chain. To that end, multinational companies need to transform and implement inclusive development strategies.

Faisal Alibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning, Ministry of Economy and Planning of Saudi Arabia

We not only need to meet supply chain challenges, but also enhance our resilience. Schneider Electric has a good, resilient, home-based strategy and architecture. In the process of globalization, companies need to think about solutions beyond the single market, and the global market should be more inclusive.

Barbara Frei, Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer, Industrial Automation, Schneider Electric

Watch the New Champion Dialogues session here.

You can’t understand the future without first understanding the past. Big data wasn’t on everybody’s lip ten years ago. Over the past decade, Yidu has built its own public health platforms through digital technologies by leveraging data processing and infrastructure. Yidu’s mission is to make value-based precision medical services accessible to everyone, which also requires more supply-side efforts.

Gong Yingying, Chief Executive Officer, Chairwoman and Founder, Yidu Tech Inc.

In the coming several decades, breakthroughs in genomics will increase digital twins’ adoption in the medical field. Data and algorithms are the backbone of digital twins, with the latter being the basis of precision medicine. Digital twins enable doctors to find the optimal treatment plan faster. Businesses therefore should make concerted efforts to bring more secure clinical research and trials.

Chun Wu, Managing Director and Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group

People in different parts of the same country often enjoy different life expectancies due to different medical services they can access. China aims to achieve equitable healthcare in the next ten years. Moreover, future digital technologies could also help with precision medicine. Technologies should also strive to turn separated healthcare services into a system, control medical cost with more precision and offer more consistent medical solutions.

Liu Jiren, Chairman, Neusoft Corporation

Advances in technology are accelerating, making precision medicine and personalized healthcare even more possible. Heading into the future, healthcare will move from treatment-oriented to more comprehensive health management, with the ultimate goal of curing the disease.

Dan Brindle, President, Novartis Group (China)

Watch the New Champion Dialogues session here.

The nutritional problems of children in poor areas are heart-wrenching. The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the global food crisis and the impact on poor areas. It is hoped that more people can deeply understand the preciousness of aquatic resources, make better use of the local aquatic food chain, and alleviate the local food crisis with more scientific and recyclable measures.

Guo Jingjing, President, Guangzhou Nansha Culture Association

Dairy is an industry that is highly dependent on global supply chains. At present, China's dairy industry maintains a relatively stable price level, which benefits from the cooperation of all players across the supply chain and the development of mechanism. The entire dairy industry chain in China is relatively strong and complete, and the interests of all players across the entire industry chain have been well balanced in the context of increase in global feed costs.

Jeffrey Lu Minfang, Chief Executive Officer, China Mengniu Dairy Co., Ltd

Watch the session here.

We must find another way beyond traditional fossil energy to achieve sustainable development of energy. At the same time, the path to green transition has a positive effect on the future of our society. The centralized structure of energy use should be shifted towards more diversification so as to advance the energy transition steadily.

Francesco La Camera, Director-General, The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

Reduction in carbon dioxide emissions has become a global consensus. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the cause of carbon reduction and has made ambitious commitments to the world. This is both a challenge and an opportunity, as well as a corporate social responsibility. In terms of achieving carbon neutrality, Sany Heavy Industry is promoting the electrification of its operating products and vigorously deploying and investing in new energy sources.

Xiang Wenbo, Chairman, Sany Heavy Industry Co. Ltd

Renewable energy can help cut emissions and contribute to net-zero. This is the energy of the future in that they are green, renewable, indispensable, and abundant. A successful energy transition needs mature technologies and proper regulation. Challenges also need to be addressed with regards to cost, storage technology, high-voltage electricity transmission network, etc..

Zhang Lei, Chief Executive Officer, Envision Group

The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Egypt in November 2022. Energy means life and the planet. We need green and sustainable energy, as well as a more equitable, sustainable, and future-oriented energy transition, which is vital for every country and everyone.

Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Ministry of Environment of Egypt

Watch the session here.

Although China's GDP performance in the second quarter did not meet expectations, this is only a short-term process, and the current development goal is to seek stability. Domestic supply chains are largely strained due to factors such as insufficient energy supplies and soaring commodity prices.

Zhu Min, Chairman, National Institute of Financial Research

Some industries are already recovering, which investors have been very excited about. Going forward, it’s necessary to make sure that global investors have more investment opportunities. Policy tools launched by the Chinese government indicate a promising economic prospect. It’s expected that the economy will see a much stronger recovery in the second half of the year.

Nicolas Aguzin, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX)