The global industrial situation and cooperation between the US, China and Europe was the topic at the centre of the panel held this morning in Sala Depero, in the Palazzo della Provincia di Trento, hosted by Stefania Di Bartolomeo, CEO of Physis Investment, Zhiyi He, expert of the Institute of Global Industry of Tsinghua University and professor at Peking University, Paolo Lazzarini, Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer of Amplifon, Roberta Miraglia, head of the Economy and International Politics editorial staff of Il Sole 24 Ore and Lorenzo Stanca, one of the founders of Mindful Capital.
The starting point is Professor Hu's annual snapshot of the world's leading companies, some 48,000 in number, according to which the strongest players are confirmed in the order of the USA, China and Europe (taken as a whole, even if examined state by state). So far, the economies of the major producing countries have grown in parallel with the growth of open markets, and this has become even more pronounced since China's entry into the WTO in the early 2000s, although with the arrival of Xi Jinping the emphasis on openness has cooled somewhat. The US, by virtue of the dollar, its currency of choice, has always met an important share of the domestic market with imports, while maintaining a leading position in services and ceding important shares of public debt to external savers. Trump's new policies have a dramatic impact on this scenario (the word 'obscurantism' resounded in the room) and are a harbinger of recession. However, the new situation could increase trade between Europe and other areas of the world, China itself, but also the rest of South East Asia or sub-Saharan Africa.
Publication date: 25/05/2025
