The unprecedented attendance at the Summer Davos Forum, a business gathering being held in Tianjin this year, can be seen as a sign that more and more people are feeling anxiety about the possibility of a prolonged global recession.

Among the 2,000 delegates and guests attending the meeting is Premier Wen Jiabao, who, at the event's opening ceremony on Tuesday, called for global cooperation to combat current economic difficulties. The forum has appropriately given itself the working theme "Creating the Future Economy", and thus placed a priority on finding new ways to ensure the global economy regains its former momentum.

As usual, much of the forum's discussion is about ways to give corporations - especially emerging multinational companies - the largest possible role in efforts to boost economic growth. At the same time, we should recognize that their role may be constrained amid the current difficulties.