The World Economic Forum report shows that the form of global cooperation is undergoing a transformation

Recently, the World Economic Forum released the "2026 Global Cooperation Barometer" report, which pointed out that although the overall level of global cooperation remains stable, the form of cooperation is undergoing changes.

The report selected five pillars of global cooperation for analysis, namely trade and capital, innovation and technology, climate and natural capital, health and well-being, and peace and security.

Trade and capital cooperation are accelerating their restructuring, while the growth of goods trade is slowing down. However, service trade and capital flows are on the rise, and trade is being reconfigured towards "closer geopolitical partners". Innovation and technological cooperation are showing a trend of both growth and limitations. Cross border data flows, IT service trade, and digital infrastructure continue to grow, with investment in artificial intelligence and data centers reaching historic highs. However, export controls on key technologies and knowledge have increased, and cross-border scientific research cooperation between countries has declined. Climate and natural capital cooperation investment have increased, but the environment is still deteriorating. Climate financing and low-carbon product trade are on the rise, and the deployment of renewable energy and electric vehicles is accelerating. However, global emissions reduction progress is still insufficient to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, and progress in marine and terrestrial ecological protection is stagnant. The cooperation between health and well-being appears stable on the surface, but long-term risks are increasing. Health indicators such as lifespan and child mortality continue to improve, but global health aid funding has significantly decreased and multilateral health funding has severely shrunk. Peace and security cooperation is the worst performing area of cooperation, with all relevant indicators below pre pandemic levels. The escalation of global conflicts has led to an increase in military spending, a historic high in the number of displaced people, and limited effectiveness of multilateral conflict resolution mechanisms.

The report points out that global cooperation is undergoing a transformation, with traditional multilateral cooperation relying on mechanisms such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and World Health Organization significantly weakening, while small-scale, flexible, and interest oriented new multilateral cooperation is on the rise. When cooperation can bring economic, security, or technological benefits, it is easier to sustain, and such cooperation is particularly evident in fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, clean energy, and digital trade. At the same time, the report also pointed out that traditional multilateral cooperation is still under pressure, but has not yet failed. After overcoming numerous difficulties, important agreements such as the World Health Organization Pandemic Agreement, the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, and the United Nations High Seas Treaty have been reached, indicating that global cooperation under the multilateral framework still has vitality.

The report emphasizes that the key issue facing world leaders today is not whether to cooperate, but how to cooperate. The previous unified cooperation model is no longer able to adapt to the rapidly changing world. The report suggests that global cooperation should be reshaped around the following capabilities. Firstly, we need to rebuild the foundation of cooperation through constructive dialogue. All parties should engage in discussions in a constructive manner, using dialogue as a confidence building mechanism to identify common interests, rather than a tool to strengthen differences; Secondly, different forms of cooperation should be matched for different issues, and cooperation should be carried out simultaneously in global, regional, and pragmatic multilateral frameworks; Finally, it is necessary to build new organizational capabilities and enhance cooperation resilience, especially in response to challenges such as geopolitical instability, supply chain restructuring, and intensified technological competition. The public and private sectors need to establish new cooperation capabilities to ensure that multi-party actions can be quickly carried out.