So what did I make of this year's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos? It felt like sitting at the bedside of somebody who had survived a heart attack but was unsure how long it would take to recover full vigour, if, indeed, he would at all. The mood of “Davos men” (yes, they mostly still are) was, as my colleague, Gideon Rachman, has pointed out, one of anxiety. Meanwhile, the participants in a still predominantly western meeting looked at the youthful vigour of emerging economies with admiration, envy and even fear.
要問我對今年的達佛斯世界經濟論壇(WEF)年會有何感想,那種感覺就像坐在一位剛剛死裏逃生的心臟病人牀邊:他活了下來,但不確定需要多久才能徹底恢復元氣——如果他真能恢復的話。正如我的同事吉狄恩•拉赫曼(Gideon Rachman)指出的,那些「達佛斯人」(沒錯,他們基本上還是同樣的一批人)的心情很焦慮。與此同時,在這個仍由西方主導的會議上,與會者用欽佩、羨慕、甚至畏懼的眼光打量著新興經濟體的蓬勃朝氣。