Agenda Dialogues

The global economy continues to navigate a period of significant disruption, with ongoing conflicts in multiple regions, volatile bond markets and growing debate over the infrastructure, technologies and investments that could shape the future.

How are companies adapting to these shifts and what trends are leading economists watching most closely?

Join us for a discussion with chief economists on the forces shaping the global economy and what they see on the horizon.
This is a briefing on the latest edition of the World Economic Forum's Chief Economists Outlook. Watch it here: https://www.weforum.org/meetings/sustainable-development-impact-meetings-2026/sessions/chief-economists-outlook/
 
Find the Outlook at:  wef.ch/chiefeconsep26
Speakers: 
Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Svenja Gudell, Chief Economist, Indeed
Nela Richardson, Chief Economist, ADP
Ufuk Akcigit, Deputy Chief Economist, World Bank Group
 
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China is entering a new demographic era, with one of the world's fastest-ageing populations reshaping its economic and social landscape. At the same time, advances in genetics, regenerative medicine and preventive health are deepening the understanding of ageing and healthy living.

As science and policy evolve, what will it take to realize the full potential of longevity?
Speakers:
Chavalit Frederick Tsao, Chairman, TPC (Tsao Pao Chee) Group
Kevin Strain, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sun Life Financial Inc.
David Jacob, Chief Executive Officer, Marsh Asia, Marsh
Liu Qian, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Wusawa Advisory, Inc
This is the full audio from a session at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026 in Dalian, China on 23-25 June, 2026. Watch it here: https://www.weforum.org/meetings/annual-meeting-of-the-new-champions-2026/sessions/ageing-as-an-economic-asset/
 
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Record-breaking heat across Europe is placing growing pressure on critical infrastructure. At the same time, oil prices climbed above $100 per barrel earlier this year as geopolitical tensions once again exposed vulnerabilities in global energy markets.
These are not isolated crises, but different sides of the same coin. And prompts the question, how can we build energy systems that remain reliable in an increasingly volatile world?
A new generation of technologies is beginning to change that equation. This session explores how new technologies like direct lithium extraction and everything-to-grid energy are changing how energy is produced, managed and consumed.
This is the full audio from a studio discussion recorded on 9 July, 2026.
Speakers: 
Volker Sick, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan
Anna Tunkel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Impact LLC
Akshay Joshi, Head of the Centre for Cybersecurity, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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More than $150 trillion moves across borders each year through the global financial system, the vast majority of it still denominated in dollars. As geopolitical tensions fragment trade relationships and middle powers look to diversify their financial exposure, alternative currencies are gaining quiet traction, such as the recent renewal of a 200-billion-yuan swap line between the Bank of Canada and the People's Bank of China.

How might a growing willingness among these economies to transact in alternative currencies reshape the structure, stability and sovereignty of the international financial system?
Speakers:
Diana Choyleva, Founder and Chief Economist, Enodo Economics, Senior Fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute
Robin Harding, Asia Editor, The Financial Times
Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Senior Fellow, China Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Ashor Nick Sarupen, Deputy Minister of Finance, Ministry of Finance of South Africa
Zhu Ning, Deputy Dean and Professor of Finance, Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance
This is the full audio from a session at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026 in Dalian, China on 23-25 June, 2026. Watch it here:  https://www.weforum.org/meetings/annual-meeting-of-the-new-champions-2026/sessions/renminbi-and-the-world/
Catch up on all the action from World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026 at wef.ch/amnc26 and across social media using the hashtag #AMNC26.
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Agenda Dialogues - subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552

Tariffs, export controls and mechanisms such as investment screening have become central instruments of economic management. This is pushing strategic players to leverage their production of critical resources and the concentration of critical supply chain inputs.

In an increasingly fractured economy, what is the right balance between protecting national interests while continuing to seek economic collaboration?

This is the full audio from a session at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026 in Dalian, China on 23-25 June, 2026. Watch it here: https://www.weforum.org/meetings/annual-meeting-of-the-new-champions-2026/sessions/resisting-autarky/

Speakers:
Yuen Yuen Ang, Alfred Chandler Chair Professor of Political Economy, Johns Hopkins University
Tian Wei, Host, World Insight with Tian Wei, China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Elizabeth Thurbon, Professor of International Political Economy; Director, Green Energy Statecraft Project, University of New South Wales
Yasushi Sasaki, Managing Director and Senior Partner; Asia Pacific Chair, Boston Consulting Group
Matthew Klein, Founder, The Overshoot
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