When the UK hosts the upcoming G7 summit in Cornwall, political and business leaders will want to see how well aligned the country is with the three issues that, collectively, will upend global commerce and catalyze economic growth in the coming decades: engagement with China, technological innovation, and clean energy.
LONDON – Skeptics have long argued that the United Kingdom is past its peak and trading largely on former glories. They point to the country’s middling rankings in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment education scores, the fact that only one British firm, HSBC, is among the world’s 50 largest public corporations, compared to Germany’s four, and the likelihood that Brexit will ultimately erode, rather than boost, Britain’s global standing.
But I disagree with this judgment. After all, the UK is one of only a handful of countries to have produced an effective COVID-19 vaccine in record time. It remains at the forefront of shaping the global green-energy transition, and it was the first major economy to enact legislation requiring it to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. Moreover, the UK retains its traditional strengths of language, location and time zone, strong universities, and deep financial markets, and it remains a standard-bearer for the rule of law.
When the UK hosts the upcoming G7 summit in Cornwall, political and business leaders will want to see how well aligned the country is with the three issues that, collectively, will upend global commerce and catalyze economic growth in the coming decades: engagement with China, technological innovation, and clean energy.
LONDON – Skeptics have long argued that the United Kingdom is past its peak and trading largely on former glories. They point to the country’s middling rankings in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment education scores, the fact that only one British firm, HSBC, is among the world’s 50 largest public corporations, compared to Germany’s four, and the likelihood that Brexit will ultimately erode, rather than boost, Britain’s global standing.
But I disagree with this judgment. After all, the UK is one of only a handful of countries to have produced an effective COVID-19 vaccine in record time. It remains at the forefront of shaping the global green-energy transition, and it was the first major economy to enact legislation requiring it to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. Moreover, the UK retains its traditional strengths of language, location and time zone, strong universities, and deep financial markets, and it remains a standard-bearer for the rule of law.
When the UK hosts the upcoming G7 summit in Cornwall, political and business leaders will want to see how well aligned the country is with the three issues that, collectively, will upend global commerce and catalyze economic growth in the coming decades: engagement with China, technological innovation, and clean energy.