Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) welcomes US President Donald Trump to China at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 8, 2017. The leaders of the world’s two largest economies have had a testing year. Photo: AFP Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) welcomes US President Donald Trump to China at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 8, 2017. The leaders of the world’s two largest economies have had a testing year. Photo: AFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) welcomes US President Donald Trump to China at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 8, 2017. The leaders of the world’s two largest economies have had a testing year. Photo: AFP
Tom Plate
Opinion

Opinion

Tom Plate

From Donald Trump curbing his Twitter use to Xi Jinping retiring, here’s what won’t happen in 2020 – but probably should

  • While it’s very unlikely that the world will make substantial progress on climate change or come to a complete agreement on geopolitical issues, some simpler developments are also unlikely to come to pass

Tom Plate
Tom Plate

Updated: 11:00am, 31 Dec, 2019

Why you can trust SCMP
Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) welcomes US President Donald Trump to China at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 8, 2017. The leaders of the world’s two largest economies have had a testing year. Photo: AFP Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) welcomes US President Donald Trump to China at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 8, 2017. The leaders of the world’s two largest economies have had a testing year. Photo: AFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) welcomes US President Donald Trump to China at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 8, 2017. The leaders of the world’s two largest economies have had a testing year. Photo: AFP
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Tom Plate

Tom Plate

Tom Plate is a university professor and a veteran columnist focused on Asia and America. This Distinguished Scholar of Asian and Pacific Studies at Loyola Marymount University has orchestrated live interactive seminars with major universities across Asia, as part of the LMU’s path-finding Asia Media International Centre. He is also the author of 13 books, including the bestsellers “Confessions of an American Media Man” (2007), four volumes in the “Giants of Asia” series, and three In the 'Tom Plate on Asia' book series. He is vice-president of the Pacific Century Institute, in Los Angeles.