Kissinger, Wang, Solomon Open Bloomberg Forum: NEF Update

(Bloomberg) -- A world reshaped by the coronavirus, climate change, inflation and an increasingly assertive China will be debated by global leaders of government, finance and industry at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum starting Wednesday. 

The three-day event in Singapore comes days after a climate deal at the COP26 talks in Glasgow, and less than 24 hours since Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping spoke to defuse tensions between the two superpowers. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson reportedly plans to use his remarks to stress the need for better ties.  

Business and finance leaders speaking in today’s sessions include Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Google parent Alphabet Inc.; David Solomon, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.; and Axel Weber, CEO of UBS Group AG. They will be joined by political leaders and thinkers including China’s Vice President Wang Qishan; U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo; former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger; and Lee Hsien Loong, prime minister of Singapore. 

The summit starts at 8:30 a.m. Singapore (7:30 p.m. New York), and speeches and panels are broadcast live. You can sign up for our New Economy Daily newsletter here. 

The first panel at 8:50 a.m. includes Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel Ltd.; Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach; and Trip.com Group CEO Jane Sun. The topic: Aftershock: The World Reshaped by Covid, focusing on the new economy emerging from the pandemic, which has triggered breakthroughs on everything from healthcare and education to connectivity and logistics. 

The NYSE’s President Stacey Cunningham will later this morning join UBS CEO Axel Weber and DBS Group CEO Piyush Gupta to discuss the implications of monetary policy makers moving into uncharted territory. Old orthodoxies about inflation and the role of government have been upended, either presaging a more dynamic global economy or, perhaps, soaring inflation and years of sub-par growth. 

Paulson will tell the forum that the world is “heading for a very dangerous place” if Washington and Beijing can’t find ways to cooperate, the New York Times reported, citing his planned remarks. 

He will warn that decoupling the countries’ financial systems will make the world more susceptible to financial crises, and that U.S. companies must operate in China to maintain global leadership. 

The New Economy Forum is being organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. Health and social-distancing protocols are being employed to ensure a safe event. 

“Health and safety remains Singapore’s top priority, and we will work closely with the Bloomberg team to create a safe and conducive environment to welcome all delegates,” Singapore’s Lee said in May, when the event was announced.

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