China's high-quality development, innovation offer opportunities for world: WEF attendees

China's vast market remains a key driver of global growth while its pursuit of high-quality development and focus on innovation present great new opportunities for the world, according to attendees at the World Economic Forum's (WEF) 2026 Annual Meeting. The five-day gathering, which is set to conclude in the Swiss Alpine town of Davos on Friday, has brought together some 3,000 leaders and experts from around the world to discuss the most pressing global challenges, including enhancing cooperation, unlocking new sources of growth and deploying innovation at scale and responsibly.

As the world economy has faced a series of shocks in recent times from the impact of tariffs imposed by the U.S. and a number of geopolitical flashpoints that have further strained global markets, many pointed to China's role as a steadfast supporter of multilateralism and free trade.

In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the Davos forum, WEF President Borge Brende highlighted China's remarkable economic transformations in recent decades since its reform and opening-up policy was introduced and its growing global influence as a major economic powerhouse.

"If you look at the opening-up of the Chinese economy starting in 1979, then China was two percent of the global GDP in the late 1970s, today China is 20 percent of the global GDP. It is true that China has the second largest economy in the world, only second to the U.S., [and] is critical in all walks of life of this world," he said.

Brende also recalled the "inspiring" speech made by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Davos event back in 2017 which stressed the importance of multilateralism as a further sign of China's commitment to promoting global cooperation.

Meanwhile, Eugene Willemsen, CEO of leading food and beverage firm PepsiCo's Africa, Middle East, and South Asia division, shared his insights from nearly two decades of engagement with the country and also highlighted the vast potential of China's innovation ecosystem.

"I personally really admire what has been happening in China over the last few decades as I've been going to China for probably almost 20 years now. And it's really remarkable to see how the country of course has developed, but also especially the innovation that's happening in China. Some of the zones, so Shenzhen obviously was an early zone, and then if you see how that further has developed, [it's] absolutely amazing," he said.

"China now is leading in many areas in technology, in renewable energy, which is absolutely remarkable. The speed of innovation [is one] that honestly I'm not seeing in many other markets across the world. So it keeps us on our toes. And of course we try to do a great job in terms of innovating, understanding our consumers and coming out with great tasting beverages and food products for the Chinese consumer," Willemsen added.

China's high-quality development, innovation offer opportunities for world: WEF attendees

The Gold and silver futures hit new record highs on Thursday as investors were flocking to safer assets.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the most-active February gold futures contract soared past 4,900 U.S. dollars per ounce during the session, while March silver futures climbed above 96 U.S. dollars per ounce.

Chart-based buying was the feature of the day as both metals remained in firmly bullish technical postures.

Benefiting from rising investment demand, robust industrial consumption and dwindling physical supplies, silver prices have risen 31 percent so far in January after soaring nearly 150 percent in 2025.

More market analysts are becoming increasingly cautious on the precious metal, as the odds of a major drawdown in silver prices have risen.

A speculative frenzy has become the major driving force behind the silver rally, and this could prove to be unsustainable. Moreover, the magnitude of the latest upsurge is difficult to justify by fundamentals. Analysts noted that there are clear signs of "Fear of Missing Out"-driven buying.

Silver's surge to fresh record highs could eventually be self-defeating, analysts said.

Analysts favor gold over other precious metals, arguing that it has the most attractive risk-reward profile. Besides safe-haven demand, gold will be the sole beneficiary of the broad-based efforts of emerging market central banks to diversify their reserves.

Goldman Sachs has raised its December 2026 price target for gold to 5,400 dollars per ounce, given private sector and emerging market central banks' diversification into gold.

Gold, silver futures continue to hit record highs as investors flock to safer assets