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SCMP Reporters

This live blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app.
US President Donald Trump tackled a slew of hot geopolitical topics at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday in a sometimes rambling speech that overran by almost 30 minutes.
Trump, who complained that he had not received enough recognition for his achievements in world peace, said that he would not use the US military to seize Greenland, which he believes is essential for his nation’s security, but said America would “remember” Denmark if it opposed the move.
He also boasted of a close relationship with Chinese president Xi Jinping, slammed WEF hosts Switzerland, boasted of “picking up” 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela and touted his domestic achievements. Read on for a blow-by-blow account of the controversial US leader’s speech.
More from our coverage:
- China’s He Lifeng warns of ‘law of the jungle’, blasts protectionism, at Davos
- Bessent cites trade progress after meeting China’s He Lifeng in Davos
- AI shaping world’s biggest infrastructure buildout: Nvidia CEO
- Macron urges Europe to hit back against Trump’s threats
Reporting by Mark Magnier, Khushboo Razdan, Lucy Quaggin, Igor Patrick, Finbarr Bermingham, Xinmei Shen and Bochen Han


US-brokered Ukraine peace talks end with no deal, as Russian strikes continue

‘Devour them alive’: Trump threatens Canada with 100% tariffs over possible China deal

Distracted at Davos, leaders are ignoring one critical issue

Russia and Ukraine sit for tense talks on thorny territorial issue

World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos

Trump tells Davos US must have Greenland but won’t use force – as it happened

US President Donald Trump attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

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Diplomacy

Economy, Trade & Business

China

US president boasted close ties with China’s Xi, vowed not to invade Greenland and slammed WEF host Switzerland in overtime speech


US president boasted close ties with China’s Xi, vowed not to invade Greenland and slammed WEF host Switzerland in overtime speech.


US-China relations

US-China relations: the Asian angle

US-China decoupling

Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s China policy

Trump administration

Venezuela

US-Venezuela conflict

Greenland

United States

Live

This is Trump’s third appearance in person at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
The US president’s 2026 address marks his fourth overall, following in-person speeches in 2018, 2020 and by video link from the White House in 2025.
All eyes will be on Trump’s speech at the event, with the president having slammed the media in 2018 and dismissed global warming – one of the event’s main themes – in 2020. In 2025, he criticised “woke” culture while saying leaders would face “very simple” but aggressive tariffs if companies did not move factories to the US.


Trump’s speech: the world waits

For a president who has insulted, discredited and humilitated “European elites”, Trump is showing up in a big way.
In tow are several cabinet secretaries – Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer – along with numerous American chief executives, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and various other senior officials.


US president brings a big crowd

Trump has viewed financial markets as a “real-time scorecard” on his performance and the success of his economic policies.
That is fine when markets keep going up, as they largely have throughout 2025. But on Tuesday the markets took a dive after his threat to slap tariffs on the UK and seven European countries until they go along with his plan to acquire Greenland, a territory of Nato ally Denmark.


Trump’s economic policies hit headwinds

As Trump intensifies his push to acquire Greeland, the Danish government is reportedly skipping the World Economic Forum in Davos, which means that no Danish official will be present when he is almost certainly tells the Scandinavian country that it is not fit to own the world’s largest island.


Danes skip Davos

Just hours before departing for the Swiss mountain resort, Trump held a nearly two-hour press conference in Washington, marking the one-year anniversary of his return to the White House.
While he focused largely on domestic issues such as gas prices and illegal immigration, interest centred on his plans for Greenland. Trump said there was no going back on Greenland, but expressed confidence in “working something out” with European allies.


Trump ramps up Greenland pressure

Based on his UN speech before the General Assembly, Trump will go off script repeatedly and use the opportunity to criticise his hosts, European civilisation and political opponents, even as he riffs about rebuilding the White House, slams Democrat cities and celebrates all the wars he has ended. “Let’s put it this way: it’s going to be a very interesting Davos,” he said on Monday.


Trump: born a rambling man

Global chief executives, including leaders from the crypto, technology and financial sectors, have been invited to an exclusive Trump post-speech reception, with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang expected to attend. The gathering, according to Reuters, is widely seen as part of the president’s effort to reinforce US dominance in technology and trade.


An invite-only reception

Amid trade wars, an AI boom and flashpoints from Ukraine to the Greenland standoff, Trump’s Davos address is the forum’s undisputed centrepiece. As he touts what he calls “first-year wins” and presses allies on NATO burden-sharing, bilateral deals, and American primacy, foreign leaders and business executives are scrambling for face time with the “America first” president.


Trump: the star attraction at Davos

After a brief Air Force One delay caused by an “electrical error”, the US president and his team have arrived at the World Economic Forum ahead of a closely watched speech.
Expect full-on “America first” vibes, with Trump set to weigh in on Venezuela, Greenland and the US economy, and to spotlight a proposed Gaza “Board of Peace”, part of his 20-point plan to end the Israel-Gaza war and oversee Gaza’s reconstruction.
All eyes on Davos.



Trump touches down in Davos

The populist president is expected to make lower-priced US housing a major theme of his speech today despite having slammed “affordability” and inflationary pressure as a hoax when it was first raised by Democrats.
Davos is a rather unusual venue to highlight the issue, given that many of the houses in the Swiss resort town cost more than US$4 million and the crowd is stacked with multi-millionaires.


Amid billionaires, Trump touts ‘affordability’

The US president’s much-anticipated speech gets under way at the World Economic Forum, with an “America first” message expected to dominate, touching on the US economy, global flashpoints and his plans for peace and reconstruction.
All eyes on what he says next.



Trump takes the stage at Davos

Snowy Alps backdrop, global leaders watching: Trump makes a headline-grabbing entrance at the World Economic Forum, walking a red carpet from Marine One.
From “America first” messaging to bold peace and reconstruction plans, his arrival is already turning heads on the snow-covered runway.



Red carpet rolled out on white snow for Trump in Davos

In 2025, freshly re-inaugurated as the 47th president, Trump appeared remotely via video link, projecting day-one urgency from the White House as he laid out bold promises on tariffs, defence spending, and economic resets.
One year later, after a tumultuous first year back in office marked by aggressive policy moves and headline-grabbing successes (at least in his telling), Trump arrives as a winner.


Trump arrives a ‘winner’: 2025 vs. 2026

Speaking at the World Economic Forum, the US president praises what he calls “extraordinary growth” under his leadership, insisting there is “virtually no inflation” as he makes the case for his economic record on the global stage.



Trump takes a victory lap at Davos: ‘Extraordinary’

Trump takes aim at Europe, saying parts of the continent are “not even recognisable any more” and urging leaders to follow the US model and his own policies. “I love Europe,” he said, but warned it is “not heading in the right direction”.


Europe not ‘recognisable’

The US president says America is “leading China by a lot” in AI and energy, arguing that his decision to let tech giants build their own power plants gives the US a major edge.
He acknowledges China’s rapid energy expansion but emphasises that the US is now producing “as much or more” to meet the massive demands of AI, calling the move his idea and a point of pride.



Trump draws a China contrast in AI at Davos

Trump claims China makes almost all the world’s windmills but barely uses them, relying instead on coal, oil, gas and some nuclear power. He calls it “very smart” from China’s perspective, selling windmills for profit while avoiding their drawbacks, but warns the policy has destructive consequences for countries that adopt it.


Trump criticises China’s wind energy strategy

Ahead of his arrival in Davos, Trump said he had “a lot of meetings” scheduled to discuss Greenland and suggested he could use tools beyond tariffs to acquire the semiautonomous Danish territory. The US president has cited the growing presence of China and Russia in the Arctic as justification for seeking control of the island.


Greenland next on the list

Trump says that his administration “picked up” 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela last week and ties his move to gas prices going down.
The US president highlights that the South American country “went bad with their policies … but we are helping them”.
“Venezuela is going to do fantastically well,” he adds. “We appreciate all of the cooperation we’ve been giving. We’ve been giving great cooperation. Once the attack ended, the attack ended and they said, ‘Let’s make a deal.’
“More people should do that, but Venezuela is going to make more money in the next six months than they’ve made in the last 20 years.”
After years of penalties, his administration kept sweeping measures in place even after Maduro’s capture, and on January 9, Trump signed an order blocking courts and creditors from touching Venezuela’s oil proceeds. US forces seized a series of tankers accused of breaching a US-led blockade in the Caribbean.



Hands off Venezuela’s oil reserves

Trump says the new Venezuelan leadership “has been very good” and promises the country will “make more money in the next six months than they’ve made in the last 20 years”.
Washington’s strike and abduction of Nicolas Maduro left the country entering a fragile transition under interim leader Delcy Rodriguez.
Members of his administration backed Maria Corina Machado and other figures who claimed the opposition won the disputed 2024 election by a landslide before Maduro stayed in power through fraud.
Yet, the US president refused to consider handling Machado the presidency of Venezuela, saying that her group did not have popular support.


What next for Venezuela?

Trump’s recent moves, including threats to take control of Greenland and attacks on Venezuela, come following his administration’s new national security strategy blueprint released in December. The strategy pledges to enforce a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, increase US influence in the western hemisphere, and counter China’s rise in Latin America.






A blueprint for national security

The US president recalls how America defended Greenland in World War II when Denmark fell, saying without US action “you’d all be speaking German and a little Japanese”.
He criticises giving it back to Denmark after the war, calling it “stupid”, and warns the island is now a strategic hotspot between the US, Russia and China – vital not for minerals, but for national and international security.



Trump: ‘You’d all be speaking German, Japanese’

Trump is criticising Denmark for failing to strengthen Greenland’s defences and says only the United States can properly protect and develop the island. He calls for renewed talks on acquiring Greenland, insisting it would boost Nato security while addressing what he sees as America’s unfair burden in the alliance.
“I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States, just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history, as many European nations have,” he says.
“There’s nothing wrong with it.”



Trump demands talks to reacquire Greenland

In the days leading up to Trump’s anticipated speech, he invited dozens of world leaders to join his “Board of Peace” as part of his plan to end the conflict in Gaza. The catch? He’s reportedly demanding US$1 billion for a permanent membership to the initiative. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are among the invitees.


Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’

Trump lashes out at Canada for what he calls “a lot of freebies” from the United States and insists the country should show gratitude.
“Canada lives because of the United States,” he adds, referencing remarks by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
In his speech at Davos on Tuesday, Carney described the current global state as a “rupture, not a transition”, arguing that the “pleasant fiction” of a stable world order has been replaced by a “brutal reality” of great power rivalry and economic coercion.



Trump: Canada should be grateful to the US

Trump repeats his claim in Davos that he settled “eight other wars” after variously positing in recent days that he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize and that it was not really important to him. He suggested he has a unique touch as peacemaker. “They were going on for 35 years. I settled it in one day,” he said.



Trump as peacemaker

Trump brushed aside Tuesday’s stock market decline, a marker he’s often used as a report card on his performance. The “stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland. So Iceland has already cost us a lot of money,” he said, as he touted his administration’s economic performance.
“But that dip is peanuts compared to what it’s gone up. And we have an unbelievable future in that stock, that stock market is going to be doubled. We’re going to hit 50,000.”



Trump’s financial market outlook

Trump claims Washington has got “nothing” from Nato beyond defending Europe, arguing the US paid the bulk of the alliance’s costs until he pushed allies to contribute more.
He says America wants full ownership of Greenland, not a lease, calling it essential for defence as a future strategic battleground, and frames the move as vital for US, allied and even Canadian security.


Trump: The US got ‘nothing’ for defending Europe

As Trump speaks about tariffs, he has imposed a sweeping, uneven set of tariffs on countries around the world, using them as leverage in trade disputes and recasting them as a central tool of US foreign policy. The US currently charges a 10 per cent tariff on British imports and a 15 per cent tariff on imports from the EU, after striking limited deals with both governments. Average US tariffs on Chinese exports are estimated at around 47.5 per cent, with some of the highest rates suspended.


Uneven worldwide tariffs issue

The “America first” president says he wants “a piece of ice for world protection” and criticises Denmark for refusing.
He warns: “You can say yes and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no, and we will remember.”






‘Say no and we’ll remember it’: Trump warns

Trump tells Davos he won’t use the US military to seize Greenland.
“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable,” he says.
“But I won’t do that … that’s probably the biggest statement I made, because people thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.”


Trump says he won’t use force to take Greenland

Trump says the island is critical for his plans to build a “golden dome”, a missile shield inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome. The president had presented the plan back in May, indicating that the project would cost about US$175 billion.
Trump explained then that he wants a space-based missile defence system capable of defending the country from advanced ballistic and hypersonic missiles.


US ‘needs Greenland for strategic national security’

The US president mentions his goal of ensuring that the US remain the “crypto capital of the world”, warning that “China wants that market as well”, just as it wants to lead in artificial intelligence.



Doubling down on crypto

The US president has been speaking for more than an hour, about 30 minutes past his allotted slot, covering topics from the economy, Greenland and wind farms “killing birds”, to illegal immigration, calling some “career criminals” and insisting they should be sent back.


Trump goes over time at Davos

Trump slams host Switzerland during his Davos speech as one of many nations not paying enough tariffs to the US. “They were paying nothing. They make beautiful watches, great watches, Rolexes, all of them,” he says.
“They were paying nothing to the United States when they sent their product in. And we had a US$41 billion deficit.”
Trump says that he was the one to do something about it. “So I said, let’s put a 30 per cent tariff on them so that we get back some of it,” although, he says, it should be 70 per cent. “But Switzerland would have been probably destroyed, financially destroyed.”


Trump wanted 70% tariffs on host Switzerland

At Davos, Trump cites the situation in Minnesota’s immigration crackdown, which is marked by protests and controversy after a federal ICE operation that included the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent, to argue the West can’t “mass import foreign cultures that have failed to build successful societies of their own”.
This reflects his broader theme about cultural strength and security amid great‑power rivalry and internal tensions.



Trump: West must defend its culture against immigration

Trump hails reports of negative net migration to the United States in 2025, claiming it happened “for the first time in 50 years”.
He offers unverified claims that deportations were “criminals … allowed to come to our countries from jails” and criticises the leadership in Minnesota, where ICE has been deployed to the streets.
“We actually are helping Minnesota so much, but they don’t appreciate it most places … Do you know Washington, DC, is the safest place now in the United States?”


Trump claims victory on migration

Trump says he was warned of “something really bad happening in China”, claiming satellite images showed body bags in Wuhan.
He insists the virus originated there and hails his administration’s pandemic response, calling Operation Warp Speed “one of the greatest military feats ever”, while insisting the US didn’t get the credit it deserved.


Trump claims satellite images showed Covid-19 dead in Wuhan

The European Parliament officially pauses its ratification process of the EU-US tariff deal, agreed last summer, over Trump’s Greenland threats.
As Trump speaks at Davos, the bloc’s top trade lawmaker, Bernd Lange, confirms that “our negotiating team just decided to suspend work on the legal implementation of Turnberry deal”.
Lange had previously said work would not continue while Trump’s threat to tariff European countries who sent troops to the giant Arctic island last week remained. Per Trump’s threat, several European countries face an additional 10 per cent tariff from February 1.
“Our sovereignty and territorial integrity are at stake. Business as usual impossible,” he wrote on X.


EU freezes US trade deal over Greenland threat

The US president says he has “always had a very good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He calls Xi “an incredible man” whose achievements are widely respected, adding that their relationship was “severely interrupted by Covid”.
He claims he used to call the pandemic “China virus” but stopped at Xi’s request to avoid conflict.



Trump says he dropped ‘China virus’ label at Xi’s request

The US president says he’s still working to broker a deal between Ukraine and Russia, calling the conflict a “bloodbath” with thousands dying weekly from drone attacks.
He claims both sides are close to an agreement and warns that failing to reach a deal would be “stupid”, stressing that saving lives must take priority.


Trump blasts UN, calls Ukraine war ‘bloodbath’

In a meandering, 70-minute speech, Trump slammed Nato, called Europe “not even recognisable”, touted the US economy and military as a manifestation of his leadership, spoke about how the US is beating China in AI and in a race over crypto, and argued that the US needs to acquire Greenland for US – and global security.
But he appeared to walk back his threat to potentially deploy the US military in acquiring Greenland. “People thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force,” he said. “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.”
The US president said the US economy is so attractive under his leadership that Beijing under Chinese President Xi Jinping, is rushing to invest, along with Japan, Mexico and Canada, to adapt to his signature tariff policy. “I’ve always had a very good relationship with President Xi of China. He’s an incredible man.”
He also touted US leadership in artificial intelligence. “We’re leading the world in AI by a lot,” he said. “We’re leading China by a lot. I think President Xi respects what we’ve done.”
In typical fashion, he went off script repeatedly, riffing on the lawns in Washington, restaurants in Memphis, said US cities will soon have “no crime”, the IQ of Somalis, praised Swiss watches but slammed their trade deficit and how tariffs benefited them. “Without us, it’s not Switzerland any more,” he said.
Trump also returned to several recurring themes throughout his Davos speech. He criticised wind energy policies, claiming they harm the environment and weaken economies, while arguing that China profits from selling windmills it barely uses.
On immigration, he linked the issue to preserving Western culture, saying that the West cannot mass-import populations from countries that have “failed to build successful societies of their own”.
He cautioned about the potential dangers of unchecked artificial intelligence, while also highlighting its benefits and framing the US as the global leader in AI development.
Trump defended his Operation Warp Speed, calling it “one of the greatest military feats ever” and arguing that the US response to Covid-19 did not receive enough credit.
He claimed he had stopped referring to the pandemic as the “China virus” at Xi’s request to avoid conflict, and says he was warned of “something really bad happening in China,” claiming satellite images showed body bags in Wuhan.
On the international stage, he returned to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, calling it a “bloodbath” and urging both sides to strike a deal to save thousands of lives and that it will be “stupid” for them to not agree to a peace deal.



Trump tells Davos US must have Greenland but won’t use force – as it happened

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US president boasted close ties with China’s Xi, vowed not to invade Greenland and slammed WEF host Switzerland in overtime speech

US president boasted close ties with China’s Xi, vowed not to invade Greenland and slammed WEF host Switzerland in overtime speech