World Leaders Urge U.S.-China Reset as Virus Rages: NEF Update

The first day of the four-day Bloomberg New Economy Forum concluded with business and political leaders taking on issues from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic to the future of global trade and climate change.

U.S.-China tensions were a major focus, with former and present heads of state calling on Xi Jinping and the incoming Biden administration to get the relationship back on track. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged a truce, while former President Bill Clinton said a more coordinated approach to dealing with Beijing would be needed as Xi’s long-term reign upended relations. Henry Kissinger said the new administration should move quickly to restore lines of communication or risk drifting into a crisis that could escalate into war.