Over 1,600 registered for Summer Davos Forum

BEIJING - A total of 1,610 delegates from 86 nations had registered for the upcoming sessions of the sixth Summer Davos Forum in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin by Tuesday, it was revealed on Thursday.

The number of delegates and guests is expected to surpass 2,000 in the coming forum, organizers said a press briefing in Beijing.

"The record number demonstrates the world's interests and faith in China's growth", said Li Xuedong, deputy director of the Department of International Cooperation with the National Development and Reform Commission.

As well as more than 1,000 business people, seven foreign leaders will attend the event. Among them will be Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius.

Premier Wen Jiabao will attend and address the opening ceremony of the forum, which is also called the sixth Annual Meeting of the New Champions, on September 11.

Wen is also scheduled to meet the foreign leaders and World Economic Forum (WEF) chairman Klaus Schwab, and talk with entrepreneurs.

Themed "Creating the Future Economy", the three-day forum will feature a list of interactive programs on highly attended issues including the Euro crisis, China's future economy and global food security.

According to Oliver Schwab, executive director of the WEF Beijing Representative Office, the most unique element this year will be strengthened interaction between the new champions and the experienced, which will make the Summer Davos the foremost world business gathering in Asia.

The summer forum was initiated according to a joint proposal by the Geneva-based WEF and the Chinese government. The northern Chinese port cities of Dalian and Tianjin have hosted the forum in turn since 2007.