The annual meeting of the 41st World Economic Forum (WEF) ended on January 30 in the Swiss Alpine ski resort of Davos with a sense of cautious optimism.
Over the past five days, more than 2,500
participants including world leaders, government officials, business
executives, academics, civil society figures and media had wide-ranging
discussions on such issues as global economic recovery, global risks and the
Doha Round of global trade talks, under the theme of "Shared Norms for a
New Reality."
Participants generally agree that the global economy is rebounding, led by developing economies including China and India, the major driving forces for global economic recovery, with developed countries growing much more slowly.
While the recovery is gaining pace, political and business leaders also agree that significant challenges remain for all economies.
Problems of sovereign debt and government budget deficits in developed countries are expected to linger for some time, despite European political leaders' firm determination to solve these them.
"European leaders have taken on the 'Herculean task to adopt all of these changes' in response to the sovereign debt crisis," said Jacob Wallenberg, chairman of Sweden's Investor AB.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in Davos that France and Germany would never allow the euro to collapse and warned currency operators that they would be taking huge risks if they speculated against it.
Inflation, commodity and food price hikes in particular, a big problem hanging over prospects of global economic recovery, with emerging markets bearing the brunt.
Over 20 WTO trade ministers representing major members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and WTO Director General Pascal Lamy met on the sidelines of the WEF meeting, agreeing to finish the long-stalled Doha Round of global trade talks within this year.
(VOVNews/Xinhua)
