The World Economic Forum (WEF), headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, released survey results on the 8th, showing that due to the deterioration of global cooperation on issues such as trade, climate, technology, and security, many enterprises believe the business environment in 2025 will become even more challenging.
The above survey report, the 2026 Global Cooperation Barometer, uses 41 indicators to assess the state of global cooperation across five main pillars: trade and capital, innovation and technology, climate and natural capital, health and wellness, and peace and security.
This online survey, conducted with 799 executives from 81 economies, shows that 43% of respondents believe that the business environment in 2025 will be more difficult compared to 2024, while only 7% hold the opposite view. The remaining respondents felt the situation would remain the same or did not express an opinion.
Nearly 40% of surveyed executives believe that increasing barriers to trade, talent, and cross-border capital flows are making business more difficult; those who held the opposite view accounted for only 10%.
The report states that, undeniably, the series of tariff hikes announced by the United States in 2025 have raised concerns over trade prospects, but 60% of the executives surveyed did not specifically emphasize trade-related issues. This indicates that many have already found ways to adjust their strategies to cope with the turbulent situation.
42% of respondents believe that global cooperation in the field of peace and security is deteriorating, while only 13% say it is improving. In addition, 29% say cooperation on climate and natural resources has become more difficult, with only 17% believing it is improving.
A WEF survey conducted last September among members of its Global Future Councils showed that their views on the current state of global cooperation are even more pessimistic than those of business executives. Some 85% of surveyed members believe that global cooperation in 2025 has deteriorated compared to the previous year.