His comments came as several prominent world leaders canceled their trips to the annual gathering to cope with domestic issues. Trump announced on Jan 10 that he would not go to Davos due to a partial federal government shutdown and his fight with the Democrats over funding for a wall on the Mexican border.

On Thursday, the White House confirmed that Trump had canceled his delegation's trip to Davos due to the government shutdown-the longest in US history. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had all been expected to attend and speak at a number of high-profile events to explain the often controversial policies of the Trump administration.

French President Emmanuel Macron, haunted by 10 weeks of massive protests by the yellow vests movement, also canceled his trip to the WEF, which will be held from Tuesday to Friday.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May, whose Brexit deal was defeated last week in Parliament but who narrowly survived a no-confidence vote, will also miss Davos to deal with the turmoil at home just 10 weeks before her country is due to leave the European Union.

However, Schwab said he is proud of the unprecedented participation from emerging powers, such as the more than 140 Chinese participants-with 11 at ministerial level-and more than 100 attending from India.

According to a study by multinational banking and financial services company Standard Chartered released early this month, China and India will be the world's top two economies by 2030 measured by nominal GDP using purchasing power parity exchange rates. By 2030, seven of the top 10 places will be dominated by emerging economies, which also comprise Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, Egypt and Russia.

Vice-President Wang Qishan will attend the WEF while also paying an official visit to Switzerland. He is scheduled to deliver a speech on Wednesday afternoon.

Other prominent world leaders who will attend include Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, new Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Some 65 heads of state and top international organizations are expected to be among about 3,000 government, business and civil society leaders from the more than 110 countries attending.