World Insights: Davos Becomes Political Battleground After Trump's Greenland Threats

Source: Xinhua Editor: huaxia2026-01-21 18:46:15

People attend the welcome reception at the 2026 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 19, 2026. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

Over the weekend, Trump announced an additional 10 percent tariff from Feb. 1 on eight European countries, including Denmark, Britain, France and Germany, all of which opposed his takeover of Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory.

Denmark's absence at this year's World Economic Forum is one example of the palpable political tensions.

BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, traditionally a key platform for discussing global economic trends and promoting cooperative development, is evolving into a political battleground this year amid growing tensions over U.S. President Donald Trump's bid to take over Greenland.

Denmark's absence at this year's forum is just one example of the palpable political tensions. However, Trump is leading the largest ever U.S. delegation in WEF history, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his special envoy Steve Witkoff, signaling the U.S. administration's active involvement in shaping the forum's discourse this year.

The forum, running from Monday through Friday, was convened under the theme "A Spirit of Dialogue."

Over the weekend, Trump announced an additional 10 percent tariff from Feb. 1 on eight European countries, including Denmark, Britain, France and Germany, all of which opposed his takeover of Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory.

In a further mockery of European leaders, Trump on Tuesday shared an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image on Truth Social, which featured himself, followed by Vice President JD Vance and Rubio, planting a U.S. flag on Greenland, with a sign saying "U.S. territory est. 2026." A second AI-generated image saw Trump in the Oval Office with European leaders, presenting them with a map showing Greenland, Canada and Venezuela covered in the U.S. flag.

"The Greenland standoff has upended the opening days of the forum that had been expected to largely focus on artificial intelligence, economic growth, and climate change," TIME Magazine said Tuesday. Ahead of Trump's Davos speech on Wednesday, world leaders "began the week in Davos with thinly veiled denunciations of Trump's conduct," the magazine added.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned on Tuesday of a "rupture" in the world order during his speech at the forum. Living in an era of great power rivalry, "the rules-based order is fading," he said. "That the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must."

Without naming Trump, Carney referred to "American hegemony." He said, "More recently, great powers began using economic integration as weapons. Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited."

Noting multilateral institutions, such as the World Trade Organization and United Nations, which aim to solve collective problems, "are greatly diminished," Carney called on middle powers, like Canada, to "act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu."

He also expressed strong support for Greenland and Denmark and opposition to tariffs proposed by the United States.

Similarly, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday in Davos: "It's a shift towards a world without rules. Where international law is trampled underfoot and where the only law that seems to matter is that of the strongest, and imperial ambitions are resurfacing."

Macron said the European Union (EU) "should not hesitate" to deploy its anti-coercion mechanism in response to the U.S. tariff threats linked to Greenland. "We do prefer respect to bullies," Macron said. "And we do prefer rule of law to brutality."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed the EU's full support for Greenland and Denmark, stressing that "the sovereignty and integrity of their territory is non-negotiable."

Without referring to Trump, she said in her address at Davos that "the proposed additional tariffs are a mistake especially between long-standing allies."

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said that with Trump's Greenland provocations, "so many red lines have been crossed" in Europe.

"Being a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else. If you back down now you're going to lose your dignity," he said during a Davos panel discussion on redefining Europe's place in the world.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, writing on X, called on Europeans to beware of "appeasement." "Europe cannot afford to be weak -- neither against its enemies, nor ally. Appeasement means no results, only humiliation. European assertiveness and self-confidence have become the need of the moment," he said.

Gavin Newsom, governor of the U.S. state of California, told European leaders to "stand tall and firm, have a backbone" during his visit to the Davos forum. "It's time to get serious and stop being complicit."

The WEF's Global Risks Report 2026, one of its flagship publications released ahead of the annual meeting, points out that geopolitical and economic risks rise in a new age of competition.

The report identifies geoeconomic confrontation as the top risk for 2026, followed by interstate conflict, extreme weather, societal polarization, misinformation and disinformation.