President Xi Jinping will become the first Chinese head of state to address the World Economic Forum, leading an entourage of business executives to Switzerland next week as the country seeks a larger role in shaping the global economic order.
Xi will speak at the opening session on Jan. 17 of the annual gathering of billionaires and political elites in the Alpine resort town of Davos, the WEF's chief China representative, David Aikman, said at a briefing Tuesday in Beijing. Xi was expected to hold conversations with global leaders among more than 3,000 attendees, who will include U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, outgoing U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and South African President Jacob Zuma, Aikman said.
Executives accompanying Xi to the meeting include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. founder Jack Ma, Dalian Wanda Group Co. Chairman Wang Jianlin and Baidu Inc. President Zhang Yaqin. Huawei Technologies Co. Chairwoman Sun Yafang, China Telecom Corp. Chairman Yang Jie, and China Poly Group Corp. Chairman Xu Niansha will also attend.