A sign marks the venue of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2020 annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday. Further down the wall, a poster showed a timeline of the 50-year history of the WEF. Photo: Caixin

U.S. President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972. Photo: Caixin

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF, made his first visit to China in 1979, marking the beginning of the organization’s long relationship with the country. Photo: Caixin

Ex-Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao sat with Schwab in 2007 at the first Annual Meeting of the New Champions, the WEF’s event in Dalian, Northeast China’s Liaoning Province. Photo: Caixin