There will be little cause for liberal elites to uncork the champagne at this year’s World Economic Forum. The internationalist world view celebrated annually at the Swiss resort of Davos is under attack on many fronts, not least of which in Britain and America — two countries hitherto at the forefront of championing a rules-based global system. But this provides an opportunity for the star turn at the 2017 gathering, Chinese President Xi Jinping, when he takes the centre stage this week.
At the last WEF meeting, US vice-president Joe Biden warned the hollowing out of middle classes in America and Europe provided fertile terrain for “demagogues peddling xenophobia, anti-immigration, nationalist, isolationist views”. How prescient Mr Biden proved. At this year’s gathering, Mr Xi could seize the chance to step in where Washington appears to be on the retreat by standing up for global co-operation on trade, climate change and security.
It might be too much to expect the first Chinese leader to attend Davos to soothe the frayed nerves of WEF habitués. China has proved itself at best an opportunistic multilateralist, at worst a spoiler. Beijing’s recent willingness to use commercial clout to wrench its neighbours out of the US sphere of influence shows, if anything, that China is unsubtly putting its self-interest first.