Investor Daily explores the major events and speeches that have got the world talking at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos.
The 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from 19-23 January, bringing together nearly 3,000 leaders from more than 130 countries.
Attending the prestigious event are political leaders such as US President Donald Trump, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen, He Lifeng, Vice-Premier of China and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney.
Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese is not in attendance.
As well as political figures, the economic nature of the event means it is also attended by financial services figureheads such as BlackRock’s chief executive Larry Fink, who is co-chairing the event, European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde and Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JP Morgan Chase.
Read on for some of this year’s biggest moments:
Trump unveils ‘forever’ Greenland framework
US President Donald Trump says he will not proceed with tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland ownership and has agreed on a framework for a Greenland deal.
Following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on 21 January, Trump told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that it’s “a deal that everybody is really happy with”
“People are out there and they’re working out right now, they’re working the details of the deal but it’s what’s called an infinite deal, it’s forever,” he said on the sidelines of the Forum.
Trump outlined further details of his “very productive meeting” on social media.
“We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st,” he said on Truth Social.
“Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations – They will report directly to me.”
The Golden Dome is a proposed multi-layer defence system for the United States that would shield the country from the threat of foreign missile attack.
The announcement came hours after Trump took to the stage to state he was seeking immediate negotiations to discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.
“What we want from Denmark, for national and international security and to keep our very energetic and dangerous potential enemies at bay, is this land on which we’re going to build the greatest Golden Dome ever built. They have a choice – you can say yes and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember.”
Trump also said that he “won’t use force” to attain Greenland. His address touched on a wide range of other issues, including trade and tariffs, regional security, AI development, nuclear power, housing affordability, migration and pandemics.
“The United States is in the midst of the fastest and most dramatic economic turnaround in our country’s history,” Trump said in his address.
US commerce secretary Lutnick offends Lagarde
ECB President Christine Lagarde walked out of an invitation-only dinner hosted by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink on 21 January after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick delivered remarks that belittled European economies.
Media reports say further walkouts and heckling of Lutnick followed, prompting Fink to conclude the dinner prematurely.
The incident came after an op-ed published in The Financial Times on 21 January, in which Lutnick defended the Trump administration’s decision to attend the World Economic Forum.
“This year, some people have asked a great question: Why is the Trump administration going to Davos at all? … “The answer is simple: we’re not going to Davos to uphold the status quo. We’re going to confront it head-on,” he wrote.
He said that, contrary to warnings from establishment politicians, the administration’s policies have not harmed the world economy, but strengthened it.
“Even as the US has used tariffs strategically to defend our workers, global markets have grown stronger. Stock markets in Japan, the UK, Europe and South Korea are all up, way up. This is because the message is clear: when America shines brightly, the world shines. Global investors understand that capitalism and their success is protected when America is strong, and the world respects our military. When we win, the world wins,” Lutnick wrote.
Adding, “we are here at Davos to make one thing crystal clear: With President Trump, capitalism has a new sheriff in town … we’re not asking permission or seeking approval. We are here to declare that the era of America Last has come to an end.”
Carney’s powerful speech
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney received a standing ovation after delivering a forceful speech on 20 January, urging allies to pursue a different global path.
“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition. Over the past two decades, a series of crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics have laid bare the risks of extreme global integration. But more recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited,” Carney said in an address on January 20.
He stressed that middle powers must act collectively “because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”
“In a war of great power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: compete with each other for favour or to combine to create a third path with impact,” Carney said.
He argued that Canada “has what the world wants,” describing the country as an energy superpower with vast reserves of critical minerals.
“We have capital, talent and we also have a government with immense fiscal capacity to act decisively .. and we have the values to which many others aspire. We are a stable and reliable partner in a world that is anything but. A partner that builds and values relationships for the long-term.”
Carney acknowledged that the old global order is not returning – and should not be mourned.
“We believe that from the fracture, we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just. This is the task of the middle powers – the countries that have the most to lose from a world of fortresses and the most to gain from genuine cooperation,” he said.
President Trump responded a day later with remarks targeting Carney, saying “Canada gets a lot of freebies from us .. they should be grateful, but they’re not.”
“I watched your Prime Minister yesterday, he wasn’t so grateful,” Trump said. “Canada lives because of the United States .. remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
China warns ‘no winners’ from tariff and trade wars
China’s Vice-Premier and economist He Lifeng delivered a special address early in the week, saying a transformation not seen for a century is accelerating worldwide.
“Rising unilateralism and protection compounded by the impacts of regional conflicts and geopolitics are bringing new changes to the global economic and trade order. In particular, since last year, tariffs and trade wars have inflicted shocks on the world economy and have posed serious challenges to multilateralism and free trade.”
Lifeng said that in response to these shifts, President Xi Jinping has proposed the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilisation Initiative and, last year, the Global Governance Initiative.
China believes these initiatives offer co-operation over division and confrontation, and provide China’s solution to the world’s problems.
“We shall firmly support free trade and jointly promote a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation,” Lifeng said.
He added that economic globalisation driven by international specialisation, collaboration, complementary strengths and the pursuit of win-win outcomes is a prevailing historical trend that has benefited many countries, including China, and enabled rapid development.
By contrast, he warned that “tariff and trade wars have no winners.”
“Beyond driving up costs for production and trade, they fragment the world economy and disrupt the global distribution of resources … While economic globalisation is not perfect, and it may cause some problems, we cannot completely reject it,” Lifeng said.
