World Financial Forum releases annual outlook report
The Ninth World Finance Forum Annual Conference and Dialogue of Continents 2026 High-Level Seminar was successfully held in Hong Kong on May 20 and 21. Themed "In Search of a New Anchor for Stability and Growth", the event brought together global entrepreneurs, scholars and technology experts to discuss the impacts of global turbulence and transformation on the world economy and finance. The forum also highlighted the special administrative region's pivotal role in global economic recovery.
The WFF's flagship research report for the year, the 2026 World Economic and Financial Outlook Report, was unveiled at the event, highlighting that amid the ongoing Iran crisis, the global economic recovery is experiencing turbulence and transformation. Slowing trade growth and supply chain restructuring are proceeding simultaneously, with the global economy witnessing structural adjustment intertwined with risks.
The central banks of major economies are therefore struggling to strike a difficult balance between fighting inflation and stabilizing growth. The pace of disinflation is slower than expected, with risks of persistent core services inflation and energy price rebounds. And monetary policy pivots tend to lag behind market expectations, raising risks of financial market adjustments.
The global economic recovery is diverging, and uncertainty is rising. Multiple intertwined factors, including a weakening US dollar, rising debt, diverging asset valuations, geopolitical disturbances and the expansion of digital finance, mean that the resilience of the financial system and policy coordination have become the core elements for stability. Coordination between monetary and fiscal policies has therfore become the core tool for stabilizing growth and preventing risks, with structural reforms providing medium-to-long-term support for such coordination.
The report forecasts that China's economic growth rate for 2026 will be 4.5 percent to 5 percent, and highlights emerging opportunities. First, the country’s industrial upgrading is accelerating, with high-end manufacturing, the digital economy and green industries becoming new growth engines. Second, domestic demand potential is being unleashed through the expansion and upgrading of consumption and the advancement of new urbanization. Third, opening-up is deepening, with the Belt and Road Initiative and free trade zones raising the level of openness. Fourth, there is ample policy space for precise fiscal measures and flexible, appropriate monetary policy.
This forum was held in Hong Kong for the first time this year. In a video address, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said that in an environment where volatility and opportunity coexist, global markets need a platform that can serve as a stable anchor while also setting sail for growth. Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong offers a premier platform for global investors. Hong Kong will continue to build bridges for global dialogue, expand multilateral cooperation space, and share the fruitful outcomes of stability and growth with the world, he said.
Zhu Guangyao, chief advisor of the WFF and former vice-minister of finance, gave a profound analysis of the severe challenges facing the world economy in his video address. He said that geopolitical conflicts and protectionism are putting pressure on the global economy, with high global debt levels and latent crises in international financial markets, emphasizing the urgency of enhancing communication and macroeconomic policy coordination among nations, especially major economies.
During the opening ceremony, the WFF Asia-Pacific Centre was inaugurated. Feng Xingke, founder and secretary-general of the WFF and director of the Center for BRICS and Global Governance, said that the Hong Kong-based institution, will focus on global financial governance, economic order reshaping and sustainable development, providing a vital platform for economic and financial exchanges of views and high-level policy dialogue in the dynamic Asia-Pacific region. It aims to deepen regional links and cooperation, contribute "Hong Kong solutions" and "Hong Kong wisdom", and enhance the Asia-Pacific's voice and influence in reshaping the global economic and financial order.
