The head of the WEF Innovator Communities Verena Kuhn is using the platform of the 2025 Summer Davos in north China's Tianjin Municipality to emphasize the private sector’s vital role as a driving force behind global innovation.
Also known as the 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the forum, themed "Entrepreneurship for a New Era," is taking place from Tuesday to Thursday. It has attracted over 1,700 influential figures from more than 90 countries and regions to discuss how entrepreneurship and emerging technologies can unlock dynamic and resilient economies.
A key focus of this year’s gathering is China’s vibrant startup ecosystem, recognized as a hub of cutting-edge innovation and future-oriented growth.
Speaking with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Wednesday, Kuhn underscored the importance of China’s startup ecosystem, highlighting its pivotal role in advancing global innovation and economic progress.
"This is a meeting that we have every year, whereas our Winter Davos focuses a bit more on what's happening currently in the world. What we do in China is we look into the future, and we look at the future companies. And this is really where we see a lot of development in China. I would say every year I'm excited. This year I'm even more excited, because I feel when you look at the startup ecosystem, there is a real development here. Obviously there was the DeepSeek moment that everyone got really excited about, the amazing innovation that's coming out of China. But there's so much more that you can discover in China. We're very proud that here at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, the Summer Davos, we have four of the 'Six Hangzhou Dragons'. Those are small companies that we expect to not be small for a very long time," she said.
The WEF Innovator Communities program supports early-stage startups that show potential to shape the future through breakthrough technologies. This year, 100 startups from 28 countries were selected to join the community, including 10 from China- five of which are in Tianjin for the event.
"Another reason why I'm excited is we announced the 25th cohort of Technology Pioneers. These are really the early-stage startups that we see as the most promising. And obviously we also have a good representation from China. There are 10 Chinese companies, five of which are with us here in Tianjin. So I would say, for me, the private sector plays a big role today, but will play an even bigger role tomorrow," Kuhn said.
She also stressed the role of the forum in fostering global connectivity, saying it helps bridge China's ecosystem with international innovation networks.
"I think connection is a really good word, right? When you look at startup ecosystems and you measure their strengths, what we see is there is a direct correlation between a number of connection speed within an ecosystem, but also globally. And so connection is something that helps us to drive innovation, to come up with better companies. In that sense, the more connections, the better. And this is really what we try as a forum to offer a platform for collaboration between private-sector companies, but also policy makers. That's also something that we try to do with the communities that I lead. Just yesterday, we had our welcome dinner for more than 100 founders with us here in Tianjin. And I can say there were several international companies, companies from the from the US, from Europe, that probably wouldn't have come otherwise. And they are really very amazed to discover things that they find here in China and the great ecosystem," Kuhn said.
WEF startup head shines spotlight on private sector's key role in fostering innovation
