Council President & CEO Leslie Vinjamuri Speaks at World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions
Chicago Council on Global Affairs President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri joined the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, China, June 23-25, 2026.
Known as "Summer Davos," the forum convened more than 1,500 leaders from business, government, and academia to address the most pressing challenges facing the global economy. The 2026 meeting was held under the theme "Innovating at Scale," focusing on how technology, trade and global cooperation can drive economic progress, enterprise and employment.
Vinjamuri participated in multiple sessions at this year's gathering. She moderated “US and China: From Here to Where?," a conversation on the trajectory of the US-China relationship amid ongoing trade, technology and security tensions, featuring APCO's Margery Kraus, Harvard Kennedy School's Graham Allison, McKinsey & Company's Joseph Luc Ngai and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Zhao Hai.
She also moderated "Dialogue over Dinner: Understanding Geoeconomic Realities," a closed session that brought together senior leaders for an in-depth discussion of the shifting landscape of global economic relations.
She additionally joined "Growth Map Rewritten," a session developed in collaboration with CNBC Asia examining where the next engines of global growth will emerge as foreign direct investment gains remain concentrated in advanced economies. Panelists included Aparna Bharadwaj of Boston Consulting Group, A. Burak Dağlıoğlu of the Investment Office of the Presidency of Türkiye, Elaine Yu of CNBC Asia and Zou Ling of Primavera Capital Group.
Watch the sessions below, and learn more about the 2026 Annual Meeting of the New Champions at wef.ch/amnc26.
