China's Premier Li to address Davos as its economy struggles

By Antoni Slodkowski

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Li Qiang is set to address global investors and politicians in Davos on Tuesday, as Beijing grapples with a sluggish post-pandemic recovery and a real estate slump.

His speech comes as, for the first time in the four decades since China opened up to foreign investment, overseas executives have grown concerned about its long-term growth prospects.

Li, who leads a large government delegation at this week's World Economic Forum, is the most senior Chinese official to rub shoulders with global business and political elites at the Swiss ski resort of Davos since President Xi Jinping in 2017.

He would "promote global cooperation, address various risks, bridge the development divide, and seek peaceful coexistence and win-win outcomes", Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

"China is generating a steady stream of growth momentum and potential for its economy," Xinhua's report added.

Li's past overtures declaring China open for business have been met with scepticism in some boardrooms in light of a broader anti-espionage law, raids on consultancies and due diligence firms and exit bans, trade bodies say.

In addition, businesses have longstanding worries about geopolitics, tightening regulations and a more favourable playing field for state-owned companies. In the July-September quarter, China recorded the first quarterly deficit in foreign direct investment since records began in 1998.

WEF organisers said more than 2,800 leaders from 120 countries, including more than 60 heads of state, are due to participate at the annual meeting.

Chinese premiers have typically been responsible for overseeing the economy, but Xi has tightened his grip in recent years and steered it more directly in a statist direction.

Li, a career bureaucrat, was revealed as the pick for China's No.2 role last October when Xi unveiled a leadership line-up stacked with loyalists.

Beyond the message on the economy, investors will be on the lookout for any bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the event, especially with Middle Eastern leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken who is also scheduled to attend.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Sunday for a larger, more authoritative Israeli-Palestinian peace conference and a timetable to implement a two-state solution as the Gaza conflict escalated and the Red Sea became a new flash point.

Also on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff said it was important that Russian ally China was present when Kyiv convenes future peace meetings, although no meeting between Li and Zelenskiy was on the official agenda.

(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Alexander Smith)