Just days after China’s annual parliamentary meeting wrapped up, the world is confronted with hints of what the international landscape will look like after the coronavirus.

In the face of a global recession, China looks set to be one of the few countries that will expand, economically and politically, analysts say.

“We don’t want to leave China,” said Joerg Wuttke, President of the European Chamber of Commerce in China. “That’s why we engage more with China and ask for more.”

Semper lacus cursus porta, feugiat primis

BEIJING — The U.S.-China relationship is at a critical turning point, analysts say, and hints of what the global landscape could look like have emerged in the few days since China’s annual parliamentary meeting wrapped up.

The highly symbolic congress – which concluded last Thursday after nearly a week of meetings – sent a strong signal to its people that China has overcome the disease, and that business is quickly getting back to normal.

Beijing also used the gathering to introduce a new security bill for the special administrative region of Hong Kong, which enjoys a semi-autonomous status. But China’s decision to approve the proposed law, that critics say will grant the central government sweeping powers to crush dissent, set off a strong reaction from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration which threatened retaliation.

Geopolitics aside, several analysts agree a reality is emerging for businesses: In the face of a global recession, China looks set to be one of the few countries that will expand, economically and politically.

“Given the current pace of things at the moment and the way the (U.S.-China) relationship is shaping (up) at the moment, this is something to be taken seriously by businesses,” said Tom Rafferty, regional director of Asia at The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The trade war has shifted into a technological, and now, financial conflict, he said in a phone call, predicting targeted actions such as U.S. sanctions on Chinese financial entities.