The Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2010, a summer event held by the World Economic Forum (WEF), will be held in Tianjin Municipality from September 13-15 this year.
The event, also known as the "Summer Davos," is similar to the WEF's Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. It was introduced to China in 2007 and has been held in Tianjin and Dalian, Liaoning Province, alternately, over the past three years.
With the theme of "Driving Growth through Sustainability," the meeting this year will focus on increasing energy efficiency, lowering carbon emissions, and developing green technology and infrastructure.
Over 1,000 business, government and civil society leaders will gather to discuss ways to drive sustainable development.
In order to inform local residents about the event and encourage them to grasp the overall economic situation in the world, Tianjin is selecting five residents to join the gala as observers through a fierce contest of more than 500 contestants. It will be the first time that ordinary citizens have the chance to attend the business gala.
The "Summer Davos" will be held in the magnificent and newly completed Meijiang Convention Center. Workers have been busy decorating the convention hall, participants' lounges, restaurants, as well as a multi-functional media center.
Tianjin has taken on a new look since the last time the event was held in the city in 2008. Fashionable shopping malls have sprouted up, streets are cleaner and wider, and factories are applying green technologies and have been moved to remote areas to stifle pollution.
Haihe River, known as the "mother river" for all Tianjiners, was once dirty and smelly. But now travelers to Tianjin can enjoy a boat ride on the Haihe's waters during cool summer evenings, breathing the fresh air, and gazing at the skyscrapers and the flashing neon lights along the riverbanks.
Tianjin is opening its arms to embrace visitors from across the world and encourage them to join the gala of business and opinion leaders for the "Summer Davos."
