Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang posed as a defender of world trade on Tuesday in Davos, denouncing “discriminatory” barriers and calling for “red lines” respected by all in the development of artificial intelligence.
For his part, the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, pleaded with his allies to continue helping his country in the face of the “predator” Putin, while the multiplication of conflicts creates a risk of fatigue with the war that Ukraine has been leading against Russia for almost two years.
Beijing’s plea for free trade
Li Qiang is the most senior Chinese official to attend the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss Alps resort since President Xi Jinping in 2017.
In his speech, held just days after the presidential election in Taiwan, which raised fears of a resurgence of tensions between Beijing and Washington, he did not tackle diplomatic issues head-on, remaining focused on the economy.
He notably denounced the “discriminatory measures for trade and investment” which appear every year, while “all obstacles or disruptions can slow down or block vital flows for the world economy”.
He did not name any specific countries, but trade has been a contentious issue for Beijing with the United States and the European Union in recent years.
Recently, Washington further curbed exports of chips critical for booming artificial intelligence technology, while Brussels opened an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles.
AI race
Li Qiang also called for “good governance” for the booming artificial intelligence (AI) technology, assuring that China “wishes to develop communication and cooperation with all parties to improve the governance mechanisms of AI”.
Advances in so-called generative artificial intelligence, highlighted for the general public by ChatGPT, are at the heart of many discussions in the snow of Davos.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula van der Leyen, notably warned that the European Union must “redouble its efforts” to avoid being left behind in this race. “First come first served and the race has already started: our future competitiveness depends on the integration of AI into our daily activities. »
The boss of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, for his part defended his partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, while his investment of around 13 billion dollars since 2019 in the company is in the sights of European regulators.
“Partnerships are a way to have competition,” he said during an event organized by Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Davos meeting, highlighting the “big risk” taken by Microsoft.
More help against the “predator” Putin
To convince his allies to continue helping him, the Ukrainian president, who came in person to Davos for the first time this year, argued from the podium that Vladimir Putin was a “predator” who would not be satisfied with conflict. “frozen” in Ukraine, where the front line has been generally immobile for several months.
Volodymyr Zelensky once again called on the West to deliver more weapons to his country and to help it gain “air superiority” over Russia with combat planes.
The American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, promised him, during a bilateral meeting, the continuation of American support, despite the negotiations which are slipping in the American Congress on the validation of an aid package.
“We are committed to maintaining our support for Ukraine and we are working very closely with Congress” on the subject, Mr. Blinken told him. “I know our European colleagues will do the same thing. »
Ukraine needs “predictable financing” in 2024 and beyond to win the war, Ursula von der Leyen also insisted, two weeks before a European summit focused on financial aid in Kiev, which The announcement was particularly delicate due to Hungary’s veto threats.
Ukraine faces competition from new conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, such as the war in Gaza and insecurity in the Red Sea, which are also part of the debates in Davos this year.
The Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahmane Al-Thani, notably warned from the podium that the transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG) “will be affected” by the escalation in the Red Sea, estimating that the American-British strikes will not would not stop attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.