Focal topics at 2014 Davos forum

The Swiss town of Davos again hit the headlines as the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) unveiled its 2014 version Wednesday, with such issues as growth and global governance becoming the focal topics.

FOCUS 1: POST-CRISIS POLICY ADJUSTMENT

The world economy, hit by the global financial crunch over the past years, is regaining growth momentum generally, with developed economies displaying strong signs of recovery. But how the buds of revival could be carefully nurtured to achieve sustained growth remains an open question.

On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its updated World Economic Outlook that global growth will accelerate to 3.7 percent in 2014 from 3 percent last year, as headwinds gradually ease.

Growth in advanced economies could be 2.2 percent in 2014, up from 1.3 percent in 2013. U.S. growth is predicted to accelerate from 1.9 percent in 2013 to 2.8 percent in 2014, while that of the euro zone will strengthen to 1 percent this year.

However, experts warn of rising risks for rapidly developing emerging economies in the years to come, as their internal structural problems and monetary policy adjustments may lead to transitions.

In Davos, some 1,500 business elites and 40 heads of state or government will also brainstorm on ways to face up to the challenges met by BRICS countries, and achieve policy interconnectivity between developed and developing nations.

FOCUS 2: COMPLEX CHALLENGES FOR GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

As Davos is busy with the annual forum, another Swiss town, Montreux, is witnessing face-to-face talks between the Syrian government and opposition aimed at ending a three-year-old political crisis that has also split the world's major powers.

It is evident that global governance has encountered new challenges over the years, and that the failed efforts to minimize the negative impacts of globalization makes it possible for certain geopolitical conflicts to take their toll.

In that regard, discussions on ways to better deal with political hot potatoes around the world, as well as specific topics such as Washington's dominance in world affairs and the fate of turmoil-torn Mideast countries, will attract both speakers and listeners at the forum in the coming days.

FOCUS 3: ACHIEVING SUSTAINED GROWTH

Over the years, widening wealth gap and worsening social inequality have resulted in chaos in many countries across the globe.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF, said, "We cannot afford to allow the next era of globalization to create as many risks and inequalities as it does opportunities."

As food security, climate change and new energy remain hot topics at this year's Davos forum, new issues like religion, gender equality, and anti-drug and anti-corruption measures are also listed as debatable issues with the goal of jointly searching for a sustainable way of developing the world and the humanity simultaneously and more harmoniously.

The world should find solutions to the fundamental problems and "look at our future in a much more constructive, in a much more strategic way. That is what Davos is about," said Schwab.