With snow piled outside the Congress Centre in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday ahead of the 2018 World Economic Forum, two people trudge out the glass door.

Themed "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World," the 48th World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual meeting is being held in Davos, Switzerland from Jan. 23 to 26.

"The 2018 WEF theme revives the concept of 'a community with shared future for mankind' put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping who attended it last year," said the Executive Chairman of the WEF Klaus Schwab.

Xi delivered two critical speeches in Switzerland last January, which lined up with the world's development course, reflected the voices of people around the world and had a global influence.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at the opening of the 2017 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 17, 2017. Since Chinese President Xi Jinping made landmark speeches at the WEF in Davos and at the UN Office at Geneva a year ago, the idea "to build a community with shared future for mankind" has gained wider international recognition for offering China's solutions to cope with global challenges.

His speech to the 2017 WEF on Jan. 17 was thought to have brought "sunshine" at a time when the world was experiencing a sluggish economy, anti-globalization, as well as uncertainty and volatility, Schwab said.

"It is true that economic globalization has created new problems, but this is no justification to write economic globalization off completely. Rather, we should adapt to and guide economic globalization, cushion its negative impact and deliver its benefits to all countries and all nations," said the Chinese president.

To clear up confusion about globalization, Xi deeply expounded on the inevitability of globalization, emphasizing that all countries must have the courage to swim in the vast ocean of global markets in order to adapt to the trend. "Learning how to swim in the process" is the right strategic choice, Xi said.

On Jan. 18, 2017, the president talked about the past, present and future of mankind from a historical and philosophical view. "All countries should jointly shape the future of the world, write international rules, manage global affairs and ensure that development outcomes are shared by all," he said.

China's solution of "Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind" proposed by Xi outlined five great visions to be achieved: staying committed to building a world of lasting peace through dialogue and consultation, a world of collective security for all through joint efforts, a world of shared prosperity through win-win cooperation, and an open and inclusive world through exchanges and mutual learning, as well as making the world clean and beautiful by pursuing green and low-carbon development.

The proposals were warmly received by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who said the UN is willing to work with China to push forward global peace and development and achieve the grand cause of building a community of a shared future for mankind.

"We should remember that 2017 dawned with President Xi Jinping's speech to the WEF," said Martin Jacques, a senior fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University, in his 2017 review.

"That was certainly a very important moment in modern international relations," Swiss Ambassador to China Jean-Jacques de Dardel, who listened to Xi's speech in person, told People's Daily.

More people come to realize that building a community of a shared future for mankind shows that human interests are changing from divided to interrelated against the backdrop of economic globalization, and it is in accordance with the common expectations of all countries for development.

"China has created a new possibility, which is to set aside the law of the jungle, abandon hegemony and power politics, go beyond the zero-sum game, and find a new and civilized path featuring cooperation, mutual benefits and joint efforts," Martin Jacques said.

People are aware that the three critical issues pointed out in Xi's speech needed to be effectively addressed, though the global economy achieved a robust periodical rise in 2017.

The three issues are: the lack of robust driving forces for global growth makes it difficult to sustain the steady growth of the global economy, inadequate global economic governance makes it difficult to adapt to new developments in the global economy, and uneven global development makes it difficult to meet people's expectations for better lives.

According to data provided by the International Monetary Fund, in the past 30 years, about 53 percent of countries in the world have experienced widened income gaps, especially in developed countries.

The Gordian Knot in Western countries caused by the vicious circle of "income disparity-resentment-populism" is in urgent need to be cut.

Right guidelines are needed to lead right actions, in a world where the geopolitical divide is aggravated, posing serious challenges to international order, where some countries are putting their interests above others, where the willingness for international cooperation is declining, and where unilateralism is rampant.

"Our 2017 Annual Meeting took place against a backdrop of declining confidence in the power of international collaboration to solve the world's challenges. President Xi's intervention was very timely in this respect," said David Aikman, the WEF's chief representative officer in China, whose remarks are pretty representative.

"China has set an example for the world to think about which road to take it to the right future," said the Financial Times describing the 2017 "China moment."

China was an international sensation in 2017, with headlines such as "China won" frequently appearing on the covers of some global mainstream magazines. Some commentators said it was because the West has felt China's sincerity to promote economic globalization and prosperity, and recognized China's Xi-led leading role in global governance and were full of expectations for it.

During the past year, China has achieved remarkable progress in the promotion of building a community of a shared future for mankind and witnessed the inspiring success of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, China has signed cooperation agreements with 80 countries and organizations, and institutionalized capacity cooperation with more than 30 countries.

In addition, Chinese businesses have helped build 75 economic and trade cooperation zones in 24 countries along the Belt and Road, greatly improving trade liberalization and investment facilitation.