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BEIJING, Jan. 22-- About five centuries ago, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan's daring global circumnavigation proved that the Earth is round, and the oceans are connected. Over the following centuries, the power of industrial revolutions and technological breakthroughs has knitted almost all corners of the world together, quickened the pace of globalization, and ushered in an age of uNPRecedented level of prosperity in human history. However, the story of today's world is a far cry from a fairy tale that usually closes with a Happily-Ever-After ending. As many world leaders and business elites are gathering in the Swiss ski resort of Davos for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), globalization seems to be both losing steam and facing a fork in the road. Across the globe, protectionists and isolationists are turning their countries ever inward-looking, putting up barriers and crippling global efforts to combat mankind's common challenges; the wealth gulf has been yawning, feeding the anger of populists in Latin America and Europe; unilateralists are brandishing sanctions, flexing military muscles, and leaving a host of multilateral deals in tatters. The connective power that used to break the spatial isolation among continents and oceans and pull different parts of the world together is now needed more than ever at this time of mounting uncertainties and expanding divisions. | 
