The most obvious implications of Biden’s victory in the US presidential election for APAC lie in trade relations, notably regarding China, the largest economy in the region and the second largest globally after the US. The expectation of further easing of trade tensions, coupled with China’s rapid recovery from the COVID-19 recession, explains why, so far, there has been very little sign that US groups or other large foreign enterprises are considering relocating away from greater China.

The global economic outlook is expected to remain subdued in the near term given the ongoing uncertainty and risks of new waves of COVID-19; however, the announcement of a vaccine that is expected to become widely available by the end of Q1 2021, combined with Track & Trace, could allow for some optimism and the return to at least a 70% travel economy starting mid-2021.