How will President Xi Jinping’s third term shape China’s future? That was the first question on the agenda for day two of the Global Boardroom. Addressing the pressures facing Generation Z should be a top priority, said panellists, along with reforming the hukou household registration system, which currently blocks the country’s migrant population from some key services.
In India, the focus was on technology and how funding in tech has slowed this year as investors have become more cautious, while fintech disruption over the past few years has led to tighter regulation from the central bank.
The impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Europe’s energy security — and on industrial activity — was discussed, with the conclusion that an immediate transition to renewables is unrealistic while the continent is still so heavily dependent on fossil fuels.
A few days into the enforcement of a new western price cap on Russian oil, Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth questioned how effective it would be: “It’s very difficult to tame a complex global market with an administrative mechanism that comes from a few countries…it’s not exactly clear how the enforcement will work.”
We also looked at the future of news, and how media organisations can stay relevant as global audiences evolve. “The kids are a lot smarter than you think they are,” said Vice Media’s Jesse Angelo. “They want real news and they want it delivered by people that look like them and sound like them and are from the same backgrounds as them.”
In a panel on global economics, the FT’s Martin Wolf said it was “quite a remarkable time in world economic history”. The consensus was that recession in the US was very likely, while the economic crisis in Europe should be viewed differently as it has been shaped by shocks that are out of sync with the US. Longer term, deglobalisation was a shared cause for concern and could lead towards higher inflation and lower growth.
Finally, in case you missed it on Wednesday, Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández called for the EU to renegotiate a landmark trade deal with South America, saying the agreement was unbalanced and a threat to the car industry in Brazil and Argentina.
“What we have to do is sit down and look at how we can reach an agreement on a more realistic basis,” Fernández said.