TIANJIN - Chinese and foreign experts had a brainstorming session ahead of the upcoming Summer Davos on Thursday, emphasizing the necessity to inspire innovation.

Sheng Bin, chief of the APEC Research Institute of Nankai University, said innovation had been a focal issue for many countries since the 2008 financial crisis.

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The 2014 Summer Davos Forum themed creating value through innovation can help Chinese enterprises keep ahead when it comes to latest trends in innovations. This will facilitate the country's industrial upgrading and overseas investment, said Sheng.

Since the first Summer Davos meeting, or the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, which was held in 2007, the Chinese port cities of Dalian and Tianjin have been hosting the event every other year.

W. Lee Howell, managing director and member of the managing board of World Economic Forum, said that the summer event has focused topics ranging from innovation, sustainable development, value chains to entrepreneurship.

The World Economic Forum, in contrast, mainly explores issues essential to worldwide economic development, said Howell.

"One thing that is amazing about having this annual New Champions Forum in China is that we build a bridge between the world and China," said David Aikman, managing director, head of New Champions, World Economic Forum.

"If you are an expert of the United States, you know what happens in the Silicon Valley but you come here to know what innovations are taking place in China and all over the world," said Aikman.

The three-day 2014 Summer Davos meeting is scheduled to open in Tianjin on Sept 10.