Global elites find themselves in the snow in Davos for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, with debates on Tuesday (January 17) centering on the war in Ukraine and the future of global trade after the lifting of restrictions in China.
Among the headliners of this first day of debates organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF): the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who will make a speech at 11:15 a.m. (10:15 GMT), and the Deputy Prime Minister Chinese Liu He whose intervention is scheduled for 11:45 (10:45 GMT).
Almost a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, and as the death toll from the Dnipro attack continues to grow, war will be on everyone’s mind. A large Ukrainian delegation is expected in the Swiss ski resort, led by first lady Olena Zelenska who is to send a special message to Davos during Tuesday’s plenary.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has planned videoconference interventions on the sidelines of the forum from Wednesday.
The consequences of the conflict for the global energy supply, food security, or simply security, particularly in Europe, will also be on the menu this week, with the German Olaf Scholz or the Spaniard Pedro Sanchez among the heads of government announced, as well as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
If the Russians are absent, as are certain figures from Davos such as the billionaire George Soros who gave up his traditional dinner due to “conflict of agenda”, the 2023 edition also sees the return of a larger Chinese delegation. , after Beijing lifted the severe travel restrictions put in place to fight the pandemic.
What will its leader Liu He, who had led negotiations during the trade war with the United States and is due to meet later in the week in Zurich with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, say about the state of world trade?
President Xi Jinping, when he came to the Swiss ski resort in 2017, presented himself as a champion of globalization, but this concept dear to Davos is increasingly questioned, with a rise in protectionist measures .
Specter of a New Cold War
US President Joe Biden has drawn criticism in particular with his Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides for broad aid for companies established in the United States in the sector of electric vehicles or renewable energies, and to which Europe always preparing his answer.
However, “public interventions adopted in the name of economic or national security” risk leading to “unintended consequences”, or being “used to gain economic advantage at the expense of others”, the director general warned on Monday. of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva in a blog post on Monday.
According to the Swiss government, some 5,000 soldiers have been mobilized, and flight restrictions put in place in the region to ensure the safety of hundreds of heads of state and government, ministers, representatives of international organizations or heads of companies participating in the meeting.
Davos is also this week a rallying point for NGOs. About 200 people demonstrated there on Sunday against the WEF meeting.
The NGO Oxfam denounced on Monday the “extreme and dangerous levels” reached by economic inequalities in the world, calling for halving the number of billionaires in the world by 2030 thanks to taxation, before “abolishing” them. longer term.
Greenpeace for its part evoked a “hypocrisy” of the world elites who come to talk about the climate in Davos, noting that during the edition of last May, 500 flights of private planes had been recorded departing from or arriving at nearby airports. of the Swiss ski resort, according to a study commissioned by the NGO from the Dutch consulting firm CE Delft.