Full coverage: Summer Davos Forum 2016

Participants at the forum say the forces of the fourth industrial revolution can be harnessed to help address global challenges.

This year at the Summer Davos in Tianjin, more than 80 discussions will seek to answer questions including how the fourth industrial revolution will drive economic transformation.

More than half the participants are from the business community. Others include economists, politicians, and global young leaders. Sergio Andrade from Brazil says he wants to use Chinese innovation for development of his own country.

The so-called fourth industrial revolution is the rise of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things and cloud computing. It features customization of products and flexible production. The focuses are on artificial intelligence, clean energy, robot technology, and quantum information.