Newsletter By 2021-09-03
For global geopolitics, one of the biggest changes brought about by the withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan is that the U.S. has also withdrawn from the world's heartlands. What the U.S. will do next is what a maritime nation would do, i.e. exerting its influence through power projections in key regions which will be concentrated around the Atlantic and Pacific routes. It is no longer a priority for China to engage in the Maritime Silk Road, like its previous projects in Sri Lanka. China's focus instead will be on cooperation in land rights, and also manage its relations with other nations in the world's heartlands, including Iran and Germany, most importantly with Russia. Yet, China would face numerous matters, so that the policymakers have to adopt such measures. Before that, it appears to have missed out its window period. The most crucial impact of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan is that, the U.S. has completely turned into a maritime power, while China is to be a land power, said
Chan Kung, founder of ANBOUND.
>>U.S.-China relations are developing along a new historical trajectory, which will bring a new development environment and risks to China. ANBOUND scholars told their
judgments on the possibilities of U.S.-China relations. While China's reforms in education, property, economics and other areas including the new normal in the economy, structural reforms in strengthening the supply-side, and pushing for economic transformation and industrial upgrade are important, they are sometimes done too quickly, which has resulted in several issues. These problems in China are related to measures taken at excessively high speed. If China strives to maintain the policy framework and governance principles of "separation of politics and economy" while the situation changes, this will help China to gain more space and longer time under the overall unfavorable international situation.
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to buffet cities and communities all around the United States. Spring optimism for recovery has turned into caution as the Delta variant and vaccination resistance has led to a resurgence in Covid cases and rapidly filling hospitals, particularly in cities and states with low vaccination rates. The
ESI Center for the Future of Cities expects its new research and thought leadership effort designed to bring together ESI's expertise in urban economics, policy and strategy to tackle the most important issues facing cities both locally and globally. “Thinking in creating this new focal point and working closely with city and business leaders on strategies and plans for sustainable futures gives us the ability to work on the most important issues facing cities”, said
Steve Wray, Senior Vice President & Principal at Econsult Solutions.
Many jobs lost during the Covid-19 pandemic may not be refilled when the economy reopens, even when the population is fully vaccinated. Digitalization and more investment in automation and technology will also change the landscape of doing business. The physical location will partly change into virtual offices, hybrid physical workplaces, and virtual offices. The pandemic accelerates digital transformation, and reshapes the future models working in cities. As occupations are replaced by automation and AI, it may lead to serious structural unemployment.
Yi Wang, head of global development programme at ANBOUND, viewed that it will be necessary for workers in the occupations most heavily hit to reinvent and upskill to move into new occupations. Foreseeably, digital welfare needs to be functional to reassure job requirements.
>>It remains not easy to see clearly the trend of global monetary policy. The current changes in inflation and the spread of COVID-19 are main impacts on the central banks' monetary policies, with concerns about economic recovery and growth. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the major economies have adopted expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, deepening the integration of fiscal and monetary policies. There are also more discussions about economic recovery and growth under the deepening influence of the MMT framework. The uneven global recovery has led to the desynchronization of global monetary policies, which also increases the uncertainties about the economic prospects.
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