세계경제포럼 경기도 4차산업혁명센터, 세계경제포럼 텐진 연차총회 참가희망기업 모집

전 세계 약 1,500명의 비즈니스 리더와 정부·시민사회·국제기구 인사 참가

계경제포럼 선정 기술 선도 기업(Technology Pioneers), 유니콘 기업과의 폭넓은 네트워킹 기회 제공

경기도 4차산업혁명센터가 스타트업의 글로벌 네트워크 구축과 해외 진출 기회를 확대한다.

경기도 4차산업혁명센터는 오는 6월 24일부터 26일까지 중국 텐진에서 열리는 ‘2025 세계경제포럼 신흥 글로벌 챔피언 연차총회(Annual Meeting of the New Champions, AMNC 2025)’에 참가할 스타트업 대표단을 모집한다고 24일 밝혔다.

세계경제올림픽으로 불리는 스위스 다보스 포럼 개최기관인 세계경제포럼(World Economic Forum)은 전 세계 혁신기술 선도기업 최고경영자(CEO) 등 차세대 글로벌 리더들이 세계 경제에 미치는 영향이 커짐에 따라 2007년부터 ‘세계경제포럼 글로벌 챔피언 연차총회'(일명 하계 다보스포럼)를 개최하기 시작했다.

이번 회의에는 세계 각국 정부 고위 관계자, 전 세계 20여개 세계경제포럼 4차산업혁명센터＊(C4IR) 관계자, 글로벌 기업 CEO, 사회적 기업가, 국제기구 및 민간 전문가들이 참석할 예정이다.

경기도 4차산업혁명센터는 국내 유망 스타트업을 추천해 이들과의 교류 및 협업 기회를 제공할 계획이다.

올해 연차총회는 ‘새로운 시대를 위한 기업가정신(Entrepreneurship for a New Era)’을 주제로 전 세계 1,500여 명의 글로벌 리더들이 모여 차세대 경제 질서를 논의하고 지속 가능한 혁신을 위한 해법을 모색하는 자리로 마련된다.

참가자들은 급변하는 글로벌 경제 환경 속에서 민첩성·창의성·확장 가능성을 바탕으로 솔루션 중심의 전략과 정책을 논의할 계획이다. 특히 중국의 변화하는 역할과 산업 전환, 기후 및 에너지 대응 등이 주요 토론 의제로 다뤄진다.

대표단으로 선발된 스타트업은 이번 총회를 통해 국내외 정부·산업계·학계 리더들과 직접 교류하며 혁신 기반 성장과 글로벌 확산 방안에 대해 논의할 수 있는 특별한 기회가 제공된다.

또한 WEF 선정 기술 선도 기업(Technology Pioneers), 유니콘 기업들은 물론 글로벌 스타트업 커뮤니티인 ‘업링크(Uplink)’＊＊ 및 세계경제포럼이 운영하는 혁신 프로그램과도 연계될 예정이다.

참여 희망 스타트업은 설립 후 10년 미만이며 투자 유치액이 미화 천만 달러 이상이 추천 대상이며, 자회사나 합작회사 형태가 아니어야 한다.

이 외에도 성별 다양성 확보 등 포용적인 경영 구조를 갖추고 있어야 하며 반드시 CEO 또는 창업자가 직접 참석해야 한다.

참가비는 여행 및 숙박비를 포함하여 자비 부담이며 세계경제포럼 경기도 4차산업혁명센터(C4IR Korea)로부터 추천을 받은 기업이어야 한다.

최대 10개사를 모집할 예정이며, 이후 최종 선정 여부는 늦어도 다음달 5월 중순까지 안내될 예정이다.

경기도 4차산업혁명센터는 대표단 선발을 통해 스타트업의 해외 진출 역량을 높이고, AMNC 2025 참가 이후에도 글로벌 파트너십 구축, 후속 협력사업 개발, 혁신기업 네트워킹 강화 등의 후속지원을 이어갈 계획이다.

경기도 4차산업혁명센터는 “이번 AMNC 2025 참가를 통해 스타트업들이 세계 무대에서 혁신성과 경쟁력을 입증하고, 글로벌 리더들과의 협력을 통해 지속 가능한 성장의 계기를 마련할 수 있을 것”이라고 밝혔다.

관련된 자세한 내용 및 일정은 세계경제포럼 경기도 4차산업혁명센터(C4IR Korea) 해외협력팀(031-776-4510~4511, 홈페이지 : www.koreago.net)으로 문의하면 된다.

＊4차산업혁명센터(Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution):세계경제포럼이 각국과 협력하여 함께 설립한 다중 이해관계자 협업을 위한 플랫폼으로, 공공 및 민간 부문을 하나로 모아 사회에 대한 기술적 혜택을 극대화하는 동시에 위험을 최소화합니다. 기하급수적으로 발전하는 기술을 탐구하고 이의 책임감 있는 채택과 적용을 추진하며, 개별적인 국가 및 주제별 센터의 글로벌 네트워크를 활용합니다.

– 4차산업혁명센터 네트워크 : 2017년 미국 샌프란시스코에 4차산업혁명센터를 처음 설립하고, 현재 전세계에 21개 센터가 운영 중이며, 금년 중 프랑스 포함 4개 센터 추가 설립 예정입니다. 미국(3개:샌프란시스코, 미시건, 텍사스), 일본, 인도(2개:뭄바이, 텔랑가나), 독일(베를린), 한국(경기. 한국대표), 프랑스(파리. 예정), 이스라엘, 카자흐스탄, 말레이시아, 오만(예정), 카타르, 르완다, 사우디아라비아(3개:4차산업혁명센터, 우주 미래 센터, 리야드 사이버 경제 센터(예정)), 세르비아, 남아프리카공화국(예정), 아랍에미리트, 아제르바이잔, 콜롬비아, 우크라이나 및 베트남에 센터가 설립되었거나, 설립 예정입니다.

＊＊Uplink(업링크):세계경제포럼(WEF)이 운영하는 디지털 플랫폼으로, 전 세계의 혁신가, 스타트업, 전문가들이 지속가능한 개발 목표(SDGs) 등의 글로벌 과제 해결을 위해 솔루션을 제안하고 협업할 수 있도록 돕는 오픈 이노베이션 생태계입니다.

[안내 지료]

아래은 세계경제포럼에 올라온 내용을 옮긴 것입니다. 

Forum Institutional

What is ‘Summer Davos’? 6 things to know about the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in China

Published May 16, 2025 · Updated May 16, 2025

Tianjin will host the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions in 2025.

Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto

World Economic Forum

This article is part of:Annual Meeting of the New Champions

• The Annual Meeting of the New Champions takes place every year in China.
• Known as ‘Summer Davos’ or ‘AMNC’, the meeting takes place in the summer months and has a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation.
• The meeting alternates between the Chinese cities of Tianjin and Dalian and is closely connected to their economic growth.

The World Economic Forum has become synonymous with the town of Davos in the Swiss Alps – where it holds its Annual Meeting every January.

But there’s another event held by the Forum in China each June, that is known as ‘Summer Davos’.

The Annual Meeting of the New Champions – or AMNC – brings together global leaders, innovators and changemakers to address pressing economic challenges, while exploring new frontiers for sustainable and inclusive growth.

Since it began in 2007, Summer Davos has established itself as a truly global event in China, convening the next generation of ‘new champions’ – or fast-growing enterprises that are shaping the future of business and society.

Here are six things to know about Summer Davos.

‘Summer Davos’ takes place in China every year.Image: World Economic Forum

1. The difference between Davos and Summer Davos

The original Davos meeting in Switzerland and Summer Davos in China serve distinct yet complementary purposes.

The Annual Meeting in Davos focuses on the year ahead, bringing together leaders across government, business, and civil society, focusing on broader geopolitical and economic issues.

In contrast, the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in China looks further ahead – over a 10-year timeline – and specifically highlights emerging economies, innovation, technology pioneers and next-generation enterprises.

Summer Davos places particular emphasis on the future of business, tech advancement, and creating opportunities in developing markets, with a strong focus on Asia’s rapidly evolving economic landscape.

Have you read?

• What is Davos? 7 things to know about the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting
• Davos and beyond: A timeline of the highlights

2. A potted history of Summer Davos

While Davos itself began life as the European Management Symposium in 1971, it became the World Economic Forum in 1987.

Two decades later, the Annual Meeting of the New Champions was established in 2007 through a collaboration between the Forum and the People’s Republic of China, with strong support of the Chinese Premier from the outset.

What began as an initiative to spotlight emerging economies and future-oriented businesses has grown into a global platform for economic dialogue.

The meeting was designed to highlight ‘New Champions’ – companies with innovative business models and technologies that drive sustainable growth.

The inaugural meeting, in Dalian, established a framework for bringing together diverse stakeholders to address shared economic challenges through collaborative solutions.

Now in its 16th iteration, the 2025 meeting reinforces the Forum’s commitment to fostering international cooperation and addressing complex global issues.

AMNC brings together more than 1,500 global leaders.Image: World Economic Forum

3. A timeline of achievements from Summer Davos

• 2006 – The World Economic Forum establishes an office in Beijing in June and invites coastal cities to bid to host the ‘World Economic Forum Global Industry Summit and Annual Meeting of Global Growth Companies‘.
• 2007 – The inaugural Summer Davos is held in Dalian in September, attended by more than 1,700 business, government and civil society leaders, representing 90 nations.
• 2007 – September 8 sees the groundbreaking ceremony of Intel’s Dalian chip factory, with an investment of $2.5 billion. Chinese media hails this and other international investments in Dalian ‘the Davos effect’.
• 2008 – Just weeks after Beijing hosts the Olympic Games and days after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the second AMNC takes place in Tianjin under the theme ‘The Next Wave of Growth’.
• 2008 – Airbus invests in Tianjin to build its first final assembly line outside Europe – with its inauguration in September. A joint venture between Airbus and the Tianjin Free Trade Zone (TJFTZ) and Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) was extended in March 2014 until 2025.
• 2010 – Host of AMNC again, Tianjin’s industrial growth rate reaches 24.8% in July, the highest in China, dubbed ‘Tianjin Speed’.
• 2010 – ORIX Group announces it will set up a headquarters in Dalian, with a signing ceremony in Beijing with the Dalian Municipal Government. It follows a breakthrough meeting at Summer Davos in 2009, People’s Daily reports.
• 2011 – At AMNC in September, Citibank announces its return to Dalian after an 84-year absence. Mayor Xia Deren hails it a “major event for the development of Dalian’s financial industry”.
• 2013 – At AMNC in Dalian, the Forum welcomes new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang for his Summer Davos debut. “We live in a global village,” Li told participants. “No country can live in isolation of others like Robinson Crusoe.”
• 2014 – In Tianjin, then-Premier Li introduces the ‘Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ initiative, with policy reforms and financial support designed to build a favorable environment for startups and small businesses across the country.

4. Core topics addressed at Summer Davos

The Annual Meeting of the New Champions consistently addresses forward-looking themes crucial to global economic development.

The 2024 meeting, themed ‘Next Frontiers for Growth‘, focused on six major topics: A New Global Economy; China and the World; Entrepreneurship in the Age of AI; New Frontiers for Industries; Investing in People; and Connecting Climate, Nature and Energy.

In 2025, the topics are: Deciphering the World Economy; Outlook on China; Industries Disrupted; Investing in People and Planet; New Energy and Materials.

Past meetings have covered themes such as ‘Driving Growth through Sustainability’ (2010), highlighting the Forum’s long-standing focus on responsible economic advancement.

The rapid advancement of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), has been a recurring focus, emphasizing their transformative potential for production and society – as well as the need for governance.

5. Why is Summer Davos held in two different cities?

After the initial bidding process resulted in the selection of Dalian, Summer Davos is now a tale of two cities: Dalian and Tianjin – and it alternates between them each year.

This rotation allows different regions within China to benefit from hosting the event, while showcasing different aspects of China’s economic development.

Dalian, a major port city in northeastern China, offers insights into international trade and maritime commerce, while Tianjin, one of China’s largest cities, highlights urban development and industrial innovation.

The first AMNC was held in Dalian in September 2007 and the city hassubsequentlyattracted more Fortune 500 companies and growth companies to invest in Dalian, including Intel.

The 2025 meeting is being held in Tianjin from June 24-26 at the 1.4 million metre-square National Convention and Exhibition Centre (NCEC).

This alternating arrangement also reflects the collaborative relationship between the World Economic Forum and various levels of Chinese government in supporting global economic dialogue.

6. What is the New Champions community?

The Forum’s New Champions community is a network of more than 100 mid-sized, mission-driven businesses from over 44 countries who share insights and lessons – and strategically use AI to unlock growth potential.

It began in 2006 as the Community of Global Growth Companies (GGC), enterprises that had already made a mark in their national and regional markets, and were poised to become global industry leaders.

At the inaugural AMNC in 2007, 125 Global Growth Companies, 40% of which were Asian businesses, were welcomed as founding members of the community.

Today, these companies, known as the New Champions, are selected based on specific criteria: they typically generate up to $2 billion in revenue, champion innovative business models and technologies, strive to deliver positive societal impact, and align with the World Economic Forum’s mission and values.

Members gain access to valuable networking opportunities, intelligence resources, and platforms to collaborate with other forward-thinking organizations.

The New Champions represent a diverse array of sectors and regions, united by their commitment to building resilience into their businesses, industries, and communities while driving sustainable economic growth through innovation.