Mingcong Li – Lead, Trade in Services, World Economic Forum
Mingcong Li is an international development and trade policy professional with more than nine years of experience spanning multilateral institutions, economic research bodies, and global policy forums. His work focuses on trade in services, development policy, and the intersection between regulation, data, and global economic integration.
He currently serves as Lead for Trade in Services at the World Economic Forum, based in Geneva, a role he assumed in October 2025. In this position, Li leads policy engagement on services trade, working with governments, international organisations, and private-sector stakeholders to address regulatory fragmentation, market access, and capacity-building challenges in global services economies.
Prior to becoming Lead, Li worked at the World Economic Forum as a Trade Policy Analyst and earlier as an Impact Measurement and Management Specialist, roles that combined policy analysis with programme delivery. His work supported data-driven policy development, cross-sector collaboration, and the design of initiatives linking trade policy with sustainable development outcomes.
Before joining the Forum, Li spent more than five years at UNCTAD, where he progressed from International Trade Specialist to Programme Officer. At UNCTAD, he provided trade policy advice, delivered technical cooperation programmes, and conducted policy-oriented economic research for developing and least-developed countries, with emphasis on services trade, regulatory frameworks, and development impacts.
Alongside his UNCTAD role, Li worked as an International Trade Specialist at ERIA, contributing to regional research and policy analysis on trade integration in ASEAN and East Asia. Earlier in his career, he held roles at the International Trade Centre and UNDP, gaining experience in governance, resource mobilisation, and applied research.
Li is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and brings a strong analytical background to multinational project management, data analysis, and capacity-building design. Across his career, his work has consistently focused on translating complex trade policy issues into practical frameworks that support governments, think tanks, and businesses operating in increasingly interconnected and regulated global markets.
