Newsletter By 2022-03-26
【KC's Column】In the Second-World-War themed movies, it is not uncommon to see starving people scavenging for food near the ruins of war, or that they pay high prices for commodities that are in shortage. The dark shadow of shortage is now looming over the world again.
ANBOUND’s founder Kung Chan noted that the war in Ukraine and the sanctions of the West on Russia have had profound impacts on the world, among which is the shortage of economy. From manufacturing to services and financial industries, the chain of negative impacts of the war in Ukraine has been expanding and extending. This will be a new era of product shortages and price shocks, caused by structural adjustments, supply chains, and various unpredictable factors. Eventually, the world economy as a whole will cope with serious structural imbalance.
>> Regardless of the outcome of the Ukraine war, Russia will struggle to tame its problems, and perhaps happen to "denationization" in the aftermath of the West's unprecedented sanctions. The world's geopolitical pattern will be reshuffled. China on the other hand, has to maintain its course in the face of shifting circumstances and pursue growth programs based on its own strategic interests. As a major power, China cannot be strategically connected to any country. Instead, maintaining a balanced policy and neutrality is in its long-term interests. The country requires a steady environment to further its economic growth. Despite being the world's second-largest economy, the country must continue a lengthy period of peaceful growth in order to strengthen its economic interests and national power.
>>Telehealth has the potential to increase access to care and deliver care that is more convenient and patient-centered; however, ongoing research is needed to ensure that telehealth is implemented in a way that ensures high-quality care and health equity. In early 2020, as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged, widespread social-distancing efforts suspended much of the delivery of nonurgent health care. Telehealth proved to be a viable alternative to in-person care, at least on a temporary basis, and utilization skyrocketed. Many Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) serving low-income patients started delivering telehealth visits in high volume in March 2020 to help maintain access to care. This sudden and dramatic change in health care delivery posed numerous challenges.
RAND researchers evaluated the progress of FQHCs, also present new information on the experiences of the 45 CCA health centers, drawing from data on visit trends, interviews with health center leaders, and surveys of health center providers and staff. Please read this report.
>>China's top economy planner National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on March 23 announced the
"Hydrogen Energy Industry Development Plan 2021-2035", which is the implementation of its 14th Five-Year Plan on the development of the hydrogen energy industry. The Plan has a significance in the formally-expressed establishment of the strategic position that will be facilitating hydrogen energy sectors.
Scholars at ANBOUND have in fact put forward a strategic proposal to build a "hydrogen energy society" more than two years ago. The establishment of hydrogen energy society involves in multiple facets. This Plan on hydrogen energy development starts precisely in this, thereby providing strong support for the country to build a hydrogen energy society.
>>Rising prices as a result of changes in the worldwide environment have introduced additional elements into economic operations. If this trend continues, the Chinese economy would go to a more complicated status, where the strain and difficulties of maintaining stable growth will increase. In the view of ANBOUND economists, the "triple pressure" on the macroeconomy, i.e., a contraction of demand, supply shock, and "weakening expectations" has not been eased, instead increased further. The adjustments on macro policy should be made on the demand and the supply sides to avoid a vicious cycle of simultaneous contraction.
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