ERIA President Brings ASEAN Perspectives to World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026

Dalian, 24-25 June 2026: ERIA President Tetsuya Watanabe participated in the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC) 2026 in Dalian, People's Republic of China, joining global leaders from government, business, academia, and international organisations under the theme 'Innovating at Scale.'

The meeting provided a platform to discuss how innovation, international co-operation, and new partnerships can address today's rapidly evolving economic and geopolitical challenges. Throughout the event, President Watanabe brought ASEAN perspectives to global discussions, highlighting the region's priorities in strengthening economic resilience, regional integration, and sustainable growth.

President Watanabe participated in three high-level sessions.

In the session 'Too Small to Fail?', he discussed the importance of strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) amidst growing global uncertainty. He emphasised that advancing digital transformation, improving access to finance, strengthening digital payment connectivity, and promoting cross-border digital trade are essential to enable ASEAN's MSMEs to participate more actively in regional and global markets.

In 'Advancing Energy Cooperation and Integration in Asia', President Watanabe highlighted the importance of regional energy co-operation in enhancing ASEAN's energy security and economic resilience. He underscored the strategic role of the ASEAN Power Grid in supporting industrial competitiveness and facilitating the region's clean energy transition. He also shared ERIA's ongoing work on ASEAN joint oil stockpiling as a practical regional mechanism to strengthen preparedness against future energy supply disruptions.

President Watanabe also participated in the closed-door session 'Regional Cooperation in a Fragmented World', where participants examined how regional co-operation can evolve in response to an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment.

On the sidelines of the meeting, President Watanabe held discussions with business leaders, chief executive officers, and young innovators participating in AMNC 2026.

ERIA's participation reflects its continued commitment to bringing ASEAN's perspectives to global policy discussions and supporting the region's efforts to build a more resilient, innovative, and inclusive future.