Online 2020 Bloomberg New Economy Forum set for November

China's national and global think tanks will co-host the third round of an influential international forum on the "new economy" in mid-November to figure out innovative methods in supporting economic recovery amid COVID-19 shocks and strengthen global coordination.

The forum, the 2020 Bloomberg New Economy Forum, will be held virtually from Nov 16 to 19. The China Center for International Economic Exchanges, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and Mandela Institute for Development Studies have been named as co-hosts, the forum's organizers said at a news conference on Wednesday.

More than 500 current and former heads of state, influential business executives, government officials, academics and experts from around the world have been invited into the event to help redesign key parts of the global economy after the ravages of COVID-19, emphasizing sustainable and inclusive growth, according to the organizers.

The forum, which is in its third year, will emphasize bringing together leaders from the East and West to share views on the development of the "new economy", which also provides a platform for the public and private sectors to exchange ideas at a time when economic power from the industrialized world to emerging markets is creating opportunities, as well as tensions and challenges, they said.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has brought massive new challenges and uncertainties to global economic and social development," and the think tanks, together with Bloomberg and other organizations, aim to bring together influential global government, business and thought leaders to discuss the new issues and challenges facing humanity, and to contribute to global economic recovery and social innovations for future development, said Zhang Xiaoqiang, executive vice-chairman and chief executive officer of the China Center.

Zhu Min, head of Tsinghua University's National Institute of Financial Research and a former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said on Wednesday that uncertainties in global economic growth are increasing as some countries have seen a second wave of COVID-19 infections recently.

But many countries have run out of their stimulus packages of fiscal and monetary measures, so for the next step, how to facilitate economic recovery will be challenging, according to Zhu.

The liquidity crisis may turn into an insolvency crisis, as some countries, including the United States, may face a peak of bankruptcies in the fourth quarter this year and in the first half of 2021, and the potential growth rate of the global economy will further decline, he said.

China will be the only country to have a positive GDP growth this year, and for the next two years, it is likely to maintain a growth rate of 10 percent compared with the base in 2019. Thus China will increase its contribution to global economic growth, which could potentially further change the global economic structure, Zhu said.

Christine Lagarde, president of European Central Bank and former managing director of the International Monetary Fund; Jin Liqun, president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Charlene Barshefsky, former US trade representative and senior international partner of WilmerHale, have been named on the guest list to deliver speeches at the forum.