PRESS RELEASE | Global leaders convene virtually to explore the shift “Towards a New Multilateral Global Economy” at the AsiaGlobal Dialogue 2020

On December 7 from 0830 to 2120 (HKT), as the world continues to speculate on the kind of multilateralism we can expect from US president-elect Joe Biden, prominent global leaders will be meeting at the first virtual AsiaGlobal Dialogue (AGD) to explore the shift “Towards a New Multilateral Global Economy”. They include Michael Spence, Nobel Laureate in economics and advisory board co-chair of the Asia Global Institute (AGI); Victor K Fung, honorary chairman of the Fung Group and advisory board co-chair of the AGI; Zhiwu Chen, economics professor and director of the AGI; Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations; Kai-Fu Lee, chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures; and Lin Xu, chairman of the China-US Green Fund and leader of the formulation of the 13th Five-Year Plan.

Across the globe, the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted various aspects of life. In education, it has posed technological, economic and learning challenges for teachers, students, parents and institutions. Covid-19 has also plunged the world into its deepest recession in generations, and as economies recover by addressing inequality and keeping sustainable development on track, extraordinary policy remedies and fiscal interventions by governments and central banks may pose challenges to achieving these objectives. In addition to triggering the economic downturn, the pandemic has further complicated political and social stress that had been playing out in the US, Europe and the Asia Pacific, and the weak global response to the coronavirus has revealed how seriously the rules-based international order is in disarray.

But the pandemic has also highlighted the great advantages of technology — the public-health and economic crises brought on by Covid-19 will accelerate digitalization and the implementation of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. And, even as governments have had to allocate resources and manpower to fight the pandemic, the expected return of the US to the Paris Agreement, along with China’s carbon-neutral pledge, could catalyze renewed global action on climate change.

Please click here (www.asiaglobaldialogue.hku.hk/speakers.html/) for the full list of AGD 2020 speakers, and here to register to join the conversations for free (www.asiaglobaldialogue.hku.hk/program.html).

Details of AGD 2020
Date: December 7 (Monday)
Time: 0830 to 2120 (HKT)
Language: English only
More details and registration: https://www.asiaglobaldialogue.hku.hk/

About the AsiaGlobal Dialogue
Organized by the Asia Global Institute of The University of Hong Kong, the AsiaGlobal Dialogue is an annual premier forum where leading academics, businesspeople, policymakers and members of society convene to inspire fresh perspectives on key global issues.

About Asia Global Institute
The Asia Global Institute generates and disseminates innovative thinking, and business-relevant research on global issues from Asian perspectives. It aims to inform global policy and actions towards a prosperous and sustainable future for all.

For enquiries, please contact: Ms Joyce Yan, Program Officer, Asia Global Institute, +852 3917 1292; Email: jyan531@hku.hk