The first half of 2020 has been disruptive for most people in the world and the worst time they have seen in their lifetime. The International Monetary Fund forecast negative growth of 4.9 percent for the global economy this year, and worldwide, more than 10 million people have been infected with Covid-19. The consequences, socially and economically, and even from a geopolitical perspective, are extremely damaging and what toll they will take is still unclear. At this critical moment, the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU believes that key global powers and the international community must show strong will and solidarity, and increase coordination in saving the world. The following eight developments in the coming six months, with some dates fixed, deserve your attention as they can help chart the course of global development, if they unfold in the right direction.

Long-awaited EU-China Summit

On July 1, 2020, Germany assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union and until December 2020, Germany will chair the meetings of the Council and be responsible for progressing EU legislation. As declared in the official programme, the German presidency will focus on overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, restarting the European economy, and reinforcing social cohesion. Germany also plans to foster discussion on climate change and the green economy, digitalization, and Europe's ability to act beyond its borders, especially in the neighbourhood.

Germany is also tasked with hosting the EU-China Summit. The high-level meeting, originally scheduled for September 14, 2020 in Leipzig (Germany), has been postponed to a yet-to-be-decided date. Nonetheless, the rescheduling of the event has not affected the importance both parties assign to the meeting: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has visited China much more often than to United States during her chancellorship, still hopes to strengthen the EU's ties with China with the high-level meeting under Germany's presidency, and the Chinese leadership has repeatedly emphasized the significance of the political agenda. 

The outcomes of the Summit are of great significance and the CCCEU expects that an ambitious Comprehensive Investment Agreement and a partnership framework for the next five years (2021-25) will be finalized. 

G20 summit in Riyadh 

The G20 Leaders Summit was proof that the multilateral system was working when the world responded to a catastrophic disaster like the 2008-09 financial crisis by respecting the increased clout of emerging economies and ensuring that that democracy in the international system functioned well. When coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, such mechanism is put to the test again. The G20 summit is scheduled in Riyadh on November 21-22. Before the summit, G20 engagement groups will host their meetings: the Labour 20 (L20), comprising elected representatives of trade unions from G20 countries, will meet at the L20 Summit on September 7-8; and the Business Twenty (B20), representing the global business community across all G20 member states, will meet at the B20 Summit on October 26-27.

Many meetings of ministers and working groups are scheduled in the summer and autumn, accompanied by virtual workshops, such as the Riyadh Initiative on the Future of WTO (June 25).

G7 Summit in US

The 46th G7 Summit was originally scheduled for June 10-12 at Camp David in the United States, which holds the G7 Presidency for 2020. After initially moving the summit online, the US rescheduled the event for September 2020, with a date still to be determined. US President Donald Trump also proposed readmitting Russia but has faced opposition from many other G7 members. He also proposed inviting South Korea, Australia and India, thus turning the G7 into a G10 or G11: this proposal is still open for discussion.

Leaders Meeting of UN permanent members

French President Emmanuel Macron proposed to organise a working meeting of leaders of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council via video conference to deal with pressing global issues. China and Russia have shown support. China, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and France are the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

For the year marking the 75th anniversary of its creation, the United Nations prepared a busy agenda. After the summer break, the General Assembly will kick off its works with a high-level meeting on the theme "The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism" to commemorate the anniversary on September 21 in New York, at the opening of the General Debate session. 

The 13th ASEM in Cambodia

The Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an Asian–European political dialogue forum to enhance relations and various forms of cooperation between its partners. It brings together 51 countries and 2 regional organizations (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in short "ASEAN", and the EU).

The 13th meeting, with the theme "Strengthening Multilateralism for Shared Growth", is scheduled for November 16-17, 2020 in Phnom Penh (Cambodia). Alongside ASEM13, 6 side events will take place, among which are the 17th Asia Europe Economic Forum (AEEF17) and the 17th Asia-Europe Business Forum (AEBF17). The Senior Officials' Meeting Retreat, which was supposed to be held in March 2020 to start the preparation process, is scheduled via videoconference on July 1-3, 2020 and physically on Nov 14-15, 2020.

Long-term budget and a conference for the EU

On May 2, 2018, the European Commission proposed its first draft of the EU's long-term budget for 2021-2027, the so-called Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission amended its proposal on May 27, 2020, unveiling a revamped MFF of EUR 1,850 billion, composed of the revised long-term budget of EUR 1,100 billion for 2021-2027, and a temporary reinforcement of EUR 750 billion under the programme "Next Generation EU".

The President of the European Council Charles Michel will present a proposal for EU leaders to be discussed at the European Council meeting of July 17-18, 2020. The three EU institutions (EU Commission, Council of the EU, EU Parliament) and the European Council, which groups all EU member states' leaders, must agree on the budget for 2021-2027 before the end of December 2020.

In July 2019, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a proposal to launch a Conference on the Future of Europe to examine the current status of the EU and the necessary improvements for its institutions and policies. Originally, the conference was due to be launched on May 9, the 70th anniversary of the Schuman declaration, and would have involved both online consultations and citizens' gatherings for two years until May 2022. European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica, in charge of the organisation of the conference, said that the launch will be postponed to at least September due to the coronavirus pandemic.

US general election

The 2020 United States presidential election is scheduled for November 3, 2020. Based on the country's electoral norms, citizens vote for presidential electors who, in turn, will vote on December 14, 2020 to either elect a new president and vice president, or re-elect the incumbents Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee on March 17, 2020, whereas former Vice President Joe Biden is the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party after Senator Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign in April.

China's next 5-year development agenda

This year sees the wrap-up of the 13th Five-year Plan for Economic and Social Development (2016–2020) and, based on precedent, the draft of the 14th five-year plan should be ready in the latter half of this year to solicit opinions and suggestions from all walks of life, before being tabled at the annual meeting of national legislators early next year for their final approval. 

China is expected to eliminate absolute poverty this year, and its per capita GDP surpassed the threshold of $10,000 dollars as the country has entered post-stage industrialization and urbanization. In this context, such blueprint of a mature market of 1.4 billion consumers is expected to be a milestone of global significance.