Eversincethe2009PittsburghSummitdesignatedtheGroupof20(G20)asthepremierforumforinternationaleconomiccooperation,theinstitutionhasmadetremendousachievementsinglobaleconomicgovernance.Still,itfaceschallengesintermsofgovernancescope,legitimacyandeffectiveresponsetoglobalcrisesduetofactorssuchasinterferencefromtheGroupofSeven(G7).Asthepresidingcountryofthe2016G20SummitinHangzhou,ChinawillplayanactiveroleinpromotingthetransformationoftheG20.
TheG20wasfirstestablishedinGermanyin1999,withthepurposeoftacklinginternationalfinancialcrises,especiallypreventingregionalfinancialcrisesfrominfectingandspreadingwider.Unfortunately,concernsaboutaglobalfinancialcrisisprovedprescientin2008whenanunprecedentedfinancialcrisisbrokeoutintheUnitedStatesandEuropeandthensweptaroundtheworld.Upontheoccurrenceoftheglobalfinancialcrisis,governmentsoftheU.S.andEuropeancountries,aswellassomemultilateralorganizationsincludingtheEuropeanCentralBankandtheG7,reachedaconsensusinPittsburghthattheG20wasprobablytheonlyplatformforinternationalcooperationcapableofrespondingtotheglobalfinancialcrisis.Basedonthatdecision,theG20begantoholdanannualleaders鈥檚ummit,whichiscalledtheG20Summit.
HangzhouInternationalExpoCenter,theprimaryvenueforthe2016G20Summit.Afterreconstruction,thevenuefeatures20functionalzonesandfloorareaof170,000squaremeters,abletoaccommodate6,000people.Asthepresidingcountryofthisyear鈥檚G20Summit,ChinaisexpectedtoactivelypromotethetransformationoftheG20.byXuXunPremierForumforEconomicCooperation
Atextualanalysisofthecommuniqu茅sandstatementstheG20hasreleasedsince2008iscrucial.StudiesnotonlypinpointwhattheG20hasadvocatedanddone,butalsoshowcasetheshiftsinmajortopicsatG20summitsoverthepastdecade.
Inthe鈥減ost-financialcrisis鈥漞ra,theG20membershavefoundprogressdifficultontheessentialissueofglobaleconomicgovernance鈥搃n-depthcollaborationonmacroeconomicpolicy鈥揳ndbeguntofocusontopicsonwhichconsensusiscomparativelyeasytoreachsuchasrecoveryandgrowthoftheworldeconomy.Althoughsomeeconomieshaveachievedconsiderablegrowthsince2008,globaleconomicgrowthstilllacksmomentumasmanyothereconomiesremainstagnantandfacedifficultiesinstructuraltransformation.
TheG20isnowconsideredthe鈥減remierforumforinternationaleconomiccooperation.鈥滻t鈥檚morethanjustanotherinternationalforum:TheG20servesasamixofinternationaleconomicforumsanda鈥済lobalsteeringcommittee.鈥漈heG20鈥檚statureaboveotherinternationaleconomiccooperationforumsismeasurable.
TheultimategoaloftheG20istorealizeeffectiveglobaleconomicgovernance.However,themostemphasizedissueinG20communiqu茅sandstatementsis鈥渋nternationaleconomiccooperation,鈥漴atherthan鈥済lobaleconomicgovernance.鈥漈hisimpliesthatinthecurrentworldorder,globalgovernanceisstillbeingmaterializedthroughinternationalcooperation(includinginternationalrules,normsandregulations)tomitigate,controlandaddresscommonchallenges,crisesandthreatsworldwide.
Infact,theG20Summitseeksnotonlyinternationaleconomiccooperation,butalsocooperationinmanyotherfields.
First,theG20鈥檚greatestcontributionwasitsdecisiontoreformandmodernizetheInternationalMonetaryFund(IMF)andtheWorldBank,whichhadbeendecayingsincetheirestablishmentin1945,soemergingeconomiescouldplayagreaterroleandhaveastrongervoiceintheseinternationalfinancialorganizations.
Second,theG20helpedaccomplishbreakthroughsinglobalsustainabledevelopmentwhenSouthKoreaandMexicoassumeditsrotatingpresidency.TheG20isbecomingincreasinglyimportantfordevelopingcountriesbecauseitplacesgreateremphasisonthesustainabledevelopmentoflaggingregionssuchasAfrica,whichhassinceenhanceditsglobalstanding.TheeffortshaveleftamajorimpactbysuccessfullyupgradingtheUNMillenniumDevelopmentGoalstotheSustainableDevelopmentGoalsin2015.
Third,theG20hasbeenurgingitsmemberstocollaborateonclimatechangepolicies,whichhasacceleratedUNclimatechangetalksandfacilitatedsigningoftheParisAgreement.
Finally,theG20hasreinforceditspositionasaleadingcollectiveforglobalgovernancebyfocusingonissuessuchasanticorruptionandtaxation.
June16,2016:TheOrganizingCommitteeoftheB20SummitholdsitsfirstpressconferenceinBeijing.Thisyear鈥檚B20SummitwillmirrortopicsoftheG20Summit,includingsixmajorissuesconcerningfinancialgrowth,tradeandinvestment,infrastructure,developmentofsmallandmedium-sizedbusinesses,employment,andanti-corruption.byLiXin/XinhuaG20Problems
WhileapplaudingthemajorcontributionsthattheG20hasmadeinglobalgovernancesince2008,wemustacknowledgetheproblemsitfaces.
First,theformoftheG20isnew,butatleasthalfofitsoperatingproceduresareold.Tosomeextent,itisanexpandedversionoftheG7.LiketheG7,theideaofformingtheG20wasproposedbyCanadaandEuropeancountries.EmergingeconomiesintheG20suchasChina,Russia,India,Brazil,andTurkeyhavealwaysadvocatedtheG20shouldavoidbecominganotherplatforminwhichmajorWesterncountriesdominateglobaleconomicgovernanceliketheG7.Inreality,theinfluenceoftheG7inworldaffairshasbeenreinforcedwiththeemergenceoftheG20.Astheglobalfinancialcrisisentered鈥渞iskmanagement鈥漰eriod(2008-2010),developedWesterncountriespledgedtomaketheG20a鈥減remierforumforinternationaleconomiccooperation鈥漣nabidtomotivateemergingeconomiestotackletheglobalfinancialcrisis.ThatpromiseprovedemptywhenEurope,Japan,andtheU.S.refusedtodissolvetheG7;attemptshaveevenbeenmadetodominatetheG20viatheG7.
Second,asacooperativeplatformcomprisedofbigcountries,theG20鈥檚globallegitimacyhasbeencontroversialsinceitsinception,givenbydefinitionitexcludessmall,weakeconomies.TheG20Summitisopentorepresentativesfromsomenon-membercountriesandregionalorganizationssuchastheAfricanUnionandtheAssociationofSoutheastAsianNations(ASEAN),whichhavesentdelegatestoeachyear鈥檚summit.However,sucheffortsremainfarfromsubstantialtoenhancetheG20鈥檚globallegitimacy.
LettingbigdevelopingcountriessuchasChina,India,BrazilandSouthAfricaplaybiggerrolesintheG20canhelpitimproveitsglobalstanding.Tocompletelysolvetheproblem,however,theG20needstoreformitssystemdesignandpolicyimplementation,tobringinmorecountriesasmembers.
Third,theG20wasdesignedtoaddresscrisesarisingfromglobalization,whichcouldpresentimpossiblemissions.Onechallengethathumansfaceisthatglobalizationhaslargelypassedoverlowandmiddleclasses,withsomelackingevenbasiclivingnecessities.Eveninthemostglobalizedcountries,whicharelargelydevelopedEuropeanandAmericancountries,theeliteclassbenefitsmostfromglobalization,whileordinarypeoplearemorevocallyobjectingtoit.Obviously,theG20candolittletosolvethiscontroversyoverglobalization.Humansarethecorepropellersofglobalization.Theycanrefineglobalization,andreverseitaswell.TheG20hasyettoproduceamiracletosolvefundamentalproblemsoftheglobalimbalance.
Globaleconomicgovernancerequiresconcertedeffortsfromallclassesofsociety.Localandnationalgovernmentsshouldworktogetherwithglobalandregionalorganizations.ThecurrentsituationshowsthatinternationalorganizationssuchastheEuropeanUnion,theIMF,theG20,andtheFinancialStabilityBoardcannoteffectivelygoverntheworldeconomythemselves.
July29,2016:TheYouth20China,themed鈥淵outhInnovationforOurSharedVision,鈥漜losesinShanghai.ICDecember6,2015:AninternationalG20volunteerteamcomprisedofmorethan50overseasstudentsandteachersfromcountriesliketheUnitedStates,ItalyandSouthKoreaisofficiallyestablished.TheG20HangzhouSummitlaunchedvolunteerrecruitmentinDecember2015.Todate,ithasattractedmorethanamillionvolunteers.CFPReformingG20withChineseWisdom
ChinahasbeenplayingasignificantroleasaG20member.Hostingthe2016G20Summitisamajoropportunityforthecountrytoplayaleadroleininternationalaffairsandexertaheavyinfluenceonthetransformationofglobaleconomicgovernance.
First,ChinacouldhelpbuildtheG20intoatrue鈥減remierforumforinternationaleconomiccooperation,鈥漢elpingitactasa鈥渟teeringcommittee鈥漟orglobaleconomicgovernance.Toreachthisambitiousgoal,thecountryneedstoenhanceitsinternationalleadershipcapacityandbeginplayingtheroleofgloballeader.Itmustprovidephysicalpublicgoodsworldwide,likeitisdoingwiththeBeltandRoadInitiativeandtheAsianInfrastructureInvestmentBank.Moreimportantly,itshouldprovideconceptualpublicgoods,suchastheplanstoreformglobalinstitutionsandrulesandregulationsforfutureglobalgovernance.
Second,Chinamustimprovetheeffectivenessofglobaleconomicgovernance.PriortotheHangzhouSummit,theThirdG20SherpaMeetingreachedanagreementtopromote鈥渕oreefficientglobaleconomicandfinancialgovernance.鈥滳hinahasmade鈥渆fficient,orderlyglobalgovernance鈥漚nimportantgoalofitsforeignpolicy.WhethertheG20caneffectivelyimplementglobalgovernancedependsonmanyfactors,ofwhichthemostsignificantisitsscopeofrepresentation.
Third,Chinamustacceleratethemodernizationofexistingglobalgovernanceinstitutions.Asanadvocateofglobalgovernancereform,Chinahascalledformodernization-orientedreform.InternationalfinancialinstitutionssuchastheIMFhaveplayedavitalroleinglobaleconomicgovernance.Withhistoryofmorethan70years,theIMFanditscousinscannothonethemodernizationprocessoftoday鈥檚world鈥搕heyhaveonlymanagedtoadjusttoadapttothechangingsituation.The2009PittsburghSummitstatedthattheG20should鈥渞eflectthecurrentsituationoftheworldeconomythroughmodernizationofglobalinstitutions.鈥漈hemoveincludedmodernizinginternationalfinancialinstitutionsandglobaldevelopmentalframework.Asthepresidingcountryofthisyear鈥檚G20Summit,ChinashouldurgetheIMFandtheWorldBanktosubstantiallyimplementreformplanspassedandapprovedbygovernmentsofG20countries,andformulateandenactplanstofurtherreforminternationalfinancialinstitutions.
Fourth,Chinacanpromoteglobalgovernancefromthegroundup.OneoftheaimsofestablishingtheG20wastomitigatesocialrecessionandexpandedinequalityarisingfromglobalization,withhopesofhelpingglobalizationbenefitasmanyordinarypeopleaspossible.Tothisend,thereismuchChinacando.Itcanrealizesocialjusticedomestically,andatthesametimeurgetheG20topaymoreattentiontoglobalsocialgovernance.
Finally,ChinacanbuildtheG20intothe21stCenturyConcertofPowers.TheconcertofbigpowersintheG20frameworkshouldinvolvenotonlyfinancialandmacroeconomicpolicies,butalsoglobalsecuritypolicies.Throughproperlyperformingtheirrespectiveduties,theG20andtheUNSecurityCouncilcanplayapivotalroleinglobalsecuritygovernance.
BothauthorsareprofessorsfromtheSchoolofInternationalStudiesatRenminUniversityofChina.
WestLake.Asthepresidingcountryofthe2016G20SummitinHangzhou,ChinawillplayanactiveroleinpromotingthetransformationoftheG20.byXuXun
G20CountriesandtheWorld
GDPof2015(millionsofUSdollars)
Source:TheWorldBank