Summer Davos 2026 focused on innovation at scale

Innovating at scale is the theme of the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as 2026 Summer Davos, which wad held in Dalian, Liaoning province, from June 23 to 25.

Among the meeting's flagship parallel sessions, the special agenda about building a modern maritime city drew extensive attention from policymakers, industry executives, maritime scholars, and global investors.

Panelists reached a consensus that the competitive edge of modern maritime hubs has moved beyond physical infrastructure scale toward integrated competitiveness built on hard infrastructure, institutional frameworks, and ecological industrial networks.

Endowed with a robust shipbuilding capacity, abundant science and education resources, and world-class port facilities, Dalian carries unique location and industry strengths.

Forum participants emphasized that the city's top strategic priority lies in harnessing innovation at scale to integrate its scattered comparative advantages, unlock greater industrial value, and evolve from a mere participant in global industrial and supply chains to a proactive player.

Throughout the three-day forum, over 1,700 participants from more than 90 countries and regions gathered in the northeastern port city to exchange insights on industrial transformation, cross-border collaboration, and sustainable growth across Asia and the globe.