The trillions of dollars the US is throwing at reviving jobs and repairing crumbling infrastructure has to be funded by higher taxes and borrowing from the rest of the world. In China, the state owns a quarter of the net national wealth and can modernise infrastructure without imposing higher taxes on citizens.

The rich do not fear inflation, but when food and energy prices rise amid massive monetary creation, the poor will suffer most. If the world’s bankers refuse to think for their clients, it is time for emerging markets to think for themselves.

The US fiscal deficit rose from 6.4 per cent of GDP in 2019 to 17.5 per cent in 2020, an increase of 11.1 percentage points in GDP fiscal support to defend a decline of 5.6 percentage points in GDP growth.

The paradox is we need consensus on how to rebuild the world but rational solutions often fail with emotional, social conflict. The smartest solutions are those that people will accept: simple to understand, look fair, and work

The Chinese world view is organic, systemic and indeterminate, recognising chance, contradictions and paradoxes. Within the next few decades, the Chinese, Indian and Islamic world view will all inevitably challenge US exceptionalism.

How the US president steers the exorbitant privilege of the dollar is critical to the long-overdue reforms that the global financial system needs to stop penalising poor and emerging economies.

The clear and present danger to modern liberal democracy is a distorted system, where the rule is ‘heads I win, tails you lose’. If there is one lesson for Asia, it is that violence cannot be an answer to the democratic process.

It was a year of deep anger, and while we were angry for good reasons, it was more with reason itself. Our future depends not just on science and reason but also on our values, so if we value human life, we should cooperate for the future even as we compete.

The world should hope for the good (healing and prosperity), avoid the bad (a repeat of mistakes from the last financial crisis) and pray against the ugly: a permanent right-wing shift in America.

The Australia-China dispute and Trump’s divided America are important signs of a changing global system, where elite minorities are being challenged by the rest. More than ever, the world needs leaders who can set aside the ‘I’ for the ‘we’.

Predicting the future is difficult, especially amid such polarisation. But one things seems certain: the Trump supporters that Hillary Clinton once called ‘deplorables’ are still behind him, and the issues driving them will not go away.

The close-call election signals a slim mandate for the new president, leaving a weaker America to face mounting global challenges. The struggle between polarised factions within nations and between nations is only just beginning.

At the heart of human choice is a moral issue, whether one cares only for oneself or more about other people and nature. The US election is a moral test for all involved, and their decisions will have consequences for the whole planet.

The pandemic has hastened existing trends, advancing the move online and killing off obsolete industries. Given that studies have shown investing in people offers better returns than sinking funds into hardware, this should be our focus.

A recent OECD report calls for countries to move away from a model that priorities GDP growth to one that focuses on human well-being, environmental sustainability, economic resilience and adaptability to new risks. Instead, tensions indicate we are in danger of war.

Over the past 60 years, Asia’s growing share of the world economy has come at the expense of the West. With India and Asean about to reap the same demographic dividend as China, how Asia manages Western insecurities and societal rifts will be key.

Assumptions about US leadership of the free world were based on a belief in liberal convergence, multilateralism and US superiority. But with Trump in the White House, it is clear that these assumptions have nothing to do with the reality.

Beating the drums of war and decoupling trade might aid domestic politics, but no one in their right mind can support a nuclear arms race amid a global pandemic. Disconnecting global trade and free flow of information only increases costs for all, reducing resources to deal with domestic inequalities.

By hoovering up debt, central banks are becoming major market players. In capping bank dividends, they force prudent investors into a frothy market. Does anyone still believe the central banks know what they are doing?

An America reeling from the emotional trauma of a mismanaged pandemic is incapable of rational policy. When the world’s leading economy and military power feels vulnerable and insecure, there can be no global peace.

The quarrel in the US and elsewhere over controversial monuments and the debate over mask wearing as a means to contain Covid-19 highlight the tension between individual rights and communal good. Societies must find the common threads that bind us or risk a break-up.

Even after lockdowns, periodic outbreaks of Covid-19 mean we need more sustainable, resilient economic models. Governments must work with businesses and communities to encourage the mass experimentation needed to shockproof the world.

If the US president carries out his threat, the latest dismaying development under his watch, it would mean invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807. Such a move would spell disaster for not just the US but also the world order.

Differing views on “one country, two systems” have made political compromise almost impossible. Renouncing violence and pursuing peaceful resolution is the way forward.

In the US, new technology has divided society into technocratic and industrial classes, and the pandemic has thrown this divide into sharper relief. In the post-coronavirus economy, the question of social fairness must be addressed.

The global pandemic shows us the interconnected reality of our existence, where problems easily cross borders and morph. The virus cannot be contained through force alone, but depends on us working together to respond and adapt to changing conditions.

Deciding whether capitalism or socialism is more suited for pandemic management is a false binary. The real issue is whether officials under each system are able to test, trace and contain the virus, and work out how to reopen economies

We must support medical workers by ensuring they have enough protective gear and practising social distancing. Governments must keep a clear head and make hard choices between lives and livelihoods.

This crisis is truly different. The pandemic has exposed the myth of false binaries, that complex modern problems can be solved by either purist markets or governments.

Inequality and fake news are undermining trust worldwide. Out of the coronavirus crisis will come the winners – the institutions able to inspire trust.