What the heck is Davos doing in Dalian, or for those unfamiliar, what the heck is Davos, I will assume you know what Dalian is (if not, browse our 'guides'). The World Economic Forum is an organisation based in Switzerland who promote global initiatives, from trade to health care. They have an annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, which usually gets the attention of the world by the nature of speakers drawn and issues addressed. Back in the Bank of England I remember spending days following each year's meeting analysing the effects of announcements made and initiatives promised, from futures curve bending to political star-gazing. Anti-globalisation protesters did similar I'm sure, even if they didn't have a Bloomberg. Such things discussed last year included the West's commitment to Africa, the cost of climate change, control of the media – quite varied. In 2005/2006 the discussion on the USD really lost me some sleep. The WEF has decided, in addition to it's regular Davos meeting, to have a second annual meeting dedicated to New Champions – countries and companies that are growing quickly, and the opportunity they face. They put two-and-two together and decided to host the Inaugural Meeting here in Dalian, one of China's fastest growing regions and home to lots of, in theory, fast growing companies.

Among the participants will be CEOs of the world’s most influential companies, political leaders, members of the Forum’s Community of Young Global Leaders, Technology Pioneers, new providers of finance, those driving the evolution of the Web 2.0 world, as well as top executives from global growth companies, which are emerging multinationals. Participants will combine their insights, expertise and experience to better address the challenges that emerging firms face. They will examine how to compete in the global marketplace and how to address the shifts taking place in competitiveness and innovation. “

Don't apply for a ticket, the Dalian meeting is invite-only. About 1500 participants are expected, selected from fast growing companies and economies; the Chinese government and Chinese companies (private, government, and quasi) will be highly involved.

We call these mould-breaking companies New Champions. Why? Because they have a proven track record of success - but also because they are ready to take the next step and join the global top-500 companies within the next five to ten years. At our ‘Davos-like’ summit in Dalian, we will create a forum specifically for these companies where they can network, cooperate and exchange ideas. Existing World Economic Forum members will also be there, to bring their experience and expertise while sharing new perspectives.

The exact details regarding venues are being kept hush; I know of at least one 5 star hotel which refused to be completely booked-out by hosting the participants, but during the period expect it difficult to find a high-class hotel room – 1500 guests and their entourages will be a strain on Dalian's 5 star hotel capacity. The date is set for 6-8 September 2007, so air flights at the time may also be strained. DalianDalian.com will hope to cover the event in some more detail nearer the time. At the moment we're not on the invite list. More details here: