How uncertain is the global economy and trade? Where are fiscal and monetary policies leading us in various countries? How will developed and emerging markets cop with potential risks and challenges respectively?

The once-in-a-century pandemic has further broadened the existing economic and social gaps triggered by the rise of unilateralism and protectionism in recent years. Therefore, the global economic landscape is facing deep differentiation and reshaping. The earlier escalating tension between China and the US has created squeezing and side-taking pressures for other countries and economies when they have to constantly adjust policies and hedge risks. Now that the dust settled on US presidential election, how much will the current international order avoid sliding into a segmented and fragmented situation? In spite of high uncertainty in the way, how can each economy rebuild trust and expedite the recovery? How can multilateral trade and cooperation get back on track to rectify the wave of "decoupling"?

The once-in-a-century pandemic not just wreaked havoc on global health system but triggered economic recessions that compared to, if not worse than, those in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. What make things worse is that instead of what had been perceived as equalizer, the pandemic dealt a disproportionate blow to blue collar workers and other economically disadvantaged. It has amplified humanitarian crisis around the globe, as countries reprioritize global financial aid to national crisis management, while the needy are more affected than ever before. In other words, the pandemic created winners and losers, adding to what had been widening disparities between haves and have-nots and disillusion with globalization.

Accordingly, how to rebuild trust in multilateral system, and more sustainable and resilient development model is the most important and urgent question our new era faces. As one of the most advanced and innovative countries in the world, how can Switzerland pull all these levers to help restore such trust? What is the role of corporate world in helping deal with these societal and economic challenges especially the likes of ABB? What is the role of international organizations like the ICRC to attain and maintain global trust in the need for collective international humanitarian collaboration, even in economically challenging times? Regarding the loopholes exposed in global public health system, what measures need to be taken to mend the fences? China has demonstrated an effective response to the pandemic and is set to be the first major economy to post a positive growth this year. In which areas can both countries join hands amid the fight against the pandemic and post-Covid recovery? Rebuilding trust may take more than a generation and according to a slew of surveys in Europe, many youths think their future will be worse off than their parents. So, how will all stakeholders (MNCs, Int’l organizations, sovereign governments) ensure that the recovery strategies are not at the cost of the next generations.

China and the US are turning a new page in their relations. In the next four years, will their bilateral ties witness a continuance of the previous ups and downs, or move on to be relatively stable and more predictable? In the global multilateral arena, is there more room for cooperation and common interests? Will China-US dialogues resume in the fields of security, economy and trade, military affairs and cybersecurity? There are more questions than answers between China and the US.

Focusing on China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and its 2035 Vision, what new ideas and highlights can be interpreted? How can policymakers speed up the formation of a "dual circulation development pattern that takes domestic development as the mainstay, with domestic and international development reinforcing each other?” With macro policy easing around the world, how can China’s fiscal policy and monetary policy effectively coordinate in the medium and long term? How will China’s national promotions of market-oriented reforms of production-factor allocation and regional economic integration improve and innovate the expansion of domestic demand and high-quality economic development?

Ever since the establishment of CICC back in 1995, the first sino-foreign joint venture investment bank in China, we saw a string of partnerships across all aspects of the Financial Services industry. Fast forward to 2020, a pivotal year for the China Financial Services industry as the government is removing the shareholding limits on foreign ownership of securities, insurance, and fund management firms one year earlier than planned. These changes have brought significant opportunities for both global and local players as evidenced by the recent announcements of multiple foreign majority or fully owned entities in China. Going forward, partnerships will continue to play a central role in re-shaping the onshore market and therefore an important topic for policymakers and industry participants. We would like to take the opportunity today and invite you to share your observations on opportunities and challenges with respect to partnerships and your views on how the partnership models will evolve in the future.

As of September 2020, 10 years have passed since the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity was hammered out. Humanity stands at a crossroads, as biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history — with the downward pressure increasing. The issue of global warming, which is vitally interrelated with biodiversity, has ushered in a new round of energy conservation and emission reductions, five years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement. Chinese authorities have announced a goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and hit peak emissions before 2030. What specific path will they follow to achieve this goal? The “historical decline” in global carbon emissions — due to the Covid-19 pandemic — seems as if nature is sending us a message: human beings are fully capable of improving the air quality of the entire planet in a short period of time. How should we utilize this crucial juncture to keep moving forward with “green recovery plans,” including the energy conservation and emission reduction project, and achieve the goals set by the Paris Agreement?

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, financial market volatility continues to surge globally, as cross-border capital flows significantly fluctuate. Simultaneously, China keeps accelerating the opening-up of its stock, bond and wealth management markets, representing an annual highlight in 2020. As we cope with the new situation, what challenges and opportunities are merging along the financial opening-up in China? How can the country actually achieve a gradual opening-up of the RMB capital account? How can international investors unlock the opportunities of asset allocation in China’s A-shares, its bond market and the like? What novel opportunities will be created for investors in the Mainland-Hong Kong Wealth Management Connect scheme?

The Covid-19 pandemic has sparked novel insights into the public health prevention and control system, activating the latest deployment update of healthcare strategies. With strategic prioritization of the development of people’s health and wellness, China has deepened and accelerated various reforms of its healthcare systems, including the Universal Coverage of Medical Insurance, disease prevention and control system, and pharmaceutical supply guarantee system. Specifically speaking, it has established a new ecology of medical production and consumption, which offers more convenient and comprehensive healthcare management and services to the public, while achieving healthy and coordinated development of healthcare, economy and society — with the help of digital technology, innovative business models and financial support. Looking ahead, how can we ensure the driving effects of innovation in institutional mechanisms, laws and policies, and achieve service and industrial upgrading in the medical and healthcare field, so that people with different healthcare needs are empowered to access convenient and appropriate medical services in a timely and effective manner? In a post-pandemic world, how can we strengthen the public health framework for infection prevention and control in order to make people’s health and wellness a priority?

How to balance supervision and innovation? It is an inevitable question. While undergoing a digital transformation, how can traditional financial institutions cope with the impact of FinTech? At the forefront of innovation, how can technology-driven finance effectively control risks and shoulder social responsibilities?

The global COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to vast changes around the world: international economic and trade turmoil intensifies; geopolitical risks rise; the reshaping of global supply chains accelerates; and the industrial chain layout gets increasingly localized and regionalized. With the Asian economy restarting orderly and the Chinese economy gradually getting back on steady growth track, there come a few core issues: stabilizing the macro leverage ratio, preventing and controlling financial risks, and seeking new ways out to expedite the domestic and international circulation. How can Hong Kong leverage its geographical and institutional advantages to promote cross-border financial cooperation and empower global economic recovery? What historic investment opportunities lie ahead for global investors amid internationalization of the RMB and the deepening of China's financial openness? The International Investment Forum 2020 will bring together financial regulatory leaders, pundits, scholars and representatives of financial institutions, foreign and domestic, to discuss post-pandemic investment opportunities and challenges, foster cross-border financial cooperation, and facilitate the financial stability and recovery in China as well as across the world.

The U.S. tightens regulations; China keeps opening its market; the prospects of macroeconomic growth diverse vary from region to region; and geopolitics produces unstable international relations: all such variables contribute to fast-tracking the exit and return of China Concept Stocks from foreign markets. What challenges cross-border financial regulations? With two sides at loggerheads for long enough, How can China and the U.S. break ice on their audit cooperation? How can China’s financial reform step up integration into the international capital market? How to further improve the cross-border interconnection and investment channels between Hong Kong and the mainland, in order to empower the returning China Concept Stocks to obtain more financial support from broader markets? From a short-term and long-term perspective, what worthwhile investment opportunities will be created as some China Concept Stocks lead the way back home?

Following the pandemic and international trade frictions, the financial volatility is soaring significantly, while global financial institutions and market participants demonstrate their growing demand for hedging. As China continues opening its capital market, it provides a historic investment opportunity for global investors. At the moment when China is launching the dual-circulation strategy, how to adjust investment strategies to seize era’s wondrous opportunities, including the upgrading of industrial and consumption structures and the next round of urbanization driven by the new infrastructure in China? Any investment ideas on stocks, bonds, real estate and industrial projects in the global market – building a diversified asset allocation in 2021?

In the aftermath of Covid-19, a "green recovery" has become the focus of global economic development as ESG risks have come under the spotlight, driving growth in ESG products. In China, particularly with the successive promotion of a series of new green development plans and ESG related capital market policies, ESG practices and ESG investing are gradually becoming mainstream.

What is the ESG status quo, and how will those new policies affect ESG development in China? How will opening-up of the capital market drive ESG mainstreaming? How quickly will China fast-track ESG infrastructure, including a disclosure framework and evaluation system? When will ESG become a dominant investment principle in China's capital market?

How has the importance of ESG strategy gained prominence amid the pandemic? How will ESG practices and ESG investing propel global sustainable development? What are the highlights of ESG practices and investing this year, and what are the current hurdles to ESG development?