Againstthecurrentglobaleconomicsituation,hostingtheupcomingG20HangzhouSummitpresentsanimportantopportunityforChinatoshowcaseitsroleasamajorpowertotheworld.However,Chinamustovercomesomebigchallengestoensureasuccessfulsummit.
Theoverallinternationaleconomicsituationtodayiscloselyrelatedtothedrasticchangeinconnotationofthephrase鈥渇reetrade.鈥漁ncethecoreofsoftpoweroftheWest,especiallytheU.S.,ithasnowbecomeadirtyword.Thelatestroundofglobalization,whichwaslaunchedinthe1980sfirstbycountrieslikeBritainandtheU.S.,promotedworldeconomicdevelopmentthroughtradeandinvestmentliberalization.Atthattime,Chinaalsobeganitsreformandopeningup.Thusithasnotonlyparticipatedintheglobalization,butbeenamajordriverofit.WithouttheactiveparticipationofChinaandits1.3billionpeople,globalizationishardlyglobal.Ofcourse,Chinaitselfhasreapedtremendouseconomicbenefitsfromthisroundofglobalization.
However,havingprofoundlychangedtheworldeconomicstructure,globalizationhasbroughtmanyproblemsaffectingtheworldeconomyandvariousindividualnations.Ataninternationallevel,policycoordinationamongcountriesfellfarbehindthepaceofglobalization,whichresultedintwocrises,the1997-98Asianfinancialcrisisandthe2008globalfinancialcrisis.AnditwasinresponsetothesetwomajorcrisesthattheG20wasbornanddeveloped.
Globalizationandtechnologicaladvanceshaveledtoawideningincomegapandgrowingsocialinequalityinmanycountriesaroundtheworld.Theverysmallgroupofrichbecomesricher,whilethemiddleclassshrinks.Today,financialandinterneteconomiesareontheriseinmanycountries.Theintegrationoffinanceandtheinternethasgivenevenmorepowertocapital.Inthehistoryofhumanity,neverhastheconceptofcapitalbeenasimportantastoday.
WesternTurnAgainstFreeTrade
Foralongtimesince1980s,manycountrieshadadvocatedfreetrade,whichhadbeenthemostappealingsoftpoweroftheWest.However,justmentioningtheconcepttodaycanattractblame.Anumberofproblems,seeminglycausedbyglobalization,haveactuallyresultedfromthefailureofvariouscountriesinhavingtheirdomesticreformsandinternalmechanismskeeppacewiththechangingexternalenvironment.However,suchproblemsnowhavebecometherootofthesecountries鈥檖oliticalproblemsandadvocacyoftradeprotectionism.Theworldtodayisundergoingmajorgeopoliticalchanges.FromthedelicatesituationintheMiddleEasttotheEuropeanrefugeecrisis,NorthKoreannuclearcrisisandtheSouthChinaSeaissue,unstablegeopoliticalsituationsareontheriseandbringmanyuncertainties.
Inthesecircumstances,whatstancesandpoliciesshouldChinatakeasthehostoftheupcomingG20Summit?Actually,Chinaitselfisconfrontingdirechallengesintheinternationaleconomicsituation.First,Chinaisfacingaless-than-appealingexternalenvironment.EUrefusedtograntChinamarketeconomystatus.RatherthanlookingatChina,manyrealproblemswithintheEUshouldbeattributedtothefactthatmanyEuropeancountriesaremoreinclinedtoadopttradeprotectionism.Second,Chinaisalsofacingaseveregeopoliticalenvironment.SomecountrieshavebeenpilingpressureonChinafromsurroundingareas,byusingtheissuessuchasNorthKoreannuclearweapons,EastChinaSeaandSouthChinaSea.
Firstandforemost,Chinamustescapegeopoliticaltraps.Thereturnofcomplicatedgeopoliticshascausedthegreatestuncertaintyforthedevelopmentofworldeconomy.Geopoliticsandsecurityhavebecometopconcernsfortheinternationalcommunity.Asthesecondlargesteconomyintheworld,ChinaisresponsibleforoptimallyutilizingtheupcomingG20Summittoeliminatethenegativeimpactsofgeopoliticsonworldeconomicdevelopmentandinspiringashiftoffocusfromgeopoliticstotradecooperationanddevelopment.
July21,2016:AerialviewofQianjiangNewTownAreainHangzhouCity.Despitemanychallenges,theupcomingG20HangzhouSummitpresentsanimportantopportunityforChinatoshowcaseitsroleasamajorpowerintheworld.ICFurtherGlobalization
Developedcountries,bigandsmall,aregenerallyallopen.Chinashouldfurthercarryoutreformandopeninguptosolveproblemsbroughtbyglobalization.Moreopenapproachesshouldbeadoptedtoaddressissueswhileavoidingconflictandevenwar.
Chinashouldvigorouslysupporttheglobalizationprocess.Chinahasbeenandwillcontinuetobethemostimportantimpetusforglobalization.Uptothispoint,theWesthasplayedthemostcentralroleinpromotingglobalization.ButwhentheWest鈥檚economyencounteredmajordifficulties,itturnedtotradeprotectionism.Chinahasalreadybecometheworld鈥檚largesttrader.AsChinaisbecomingincreasinglyopen,globalizationalignswithitsnationalinterests.
Chinamaintainsandimprovestheworld鈥檚currentfreetradesystem.Throughinternalreformandintegrationwithinternationalfreetrademechanisms,Chinanowplaysanimportantroleintheexistingsystem.FreetradecanalsoserveChina鈥檚softpower.
Inturn,Chinaneedstounderstandandacceptnewrules.AlthoughtheU.S.hasbeentryingtoenacttraderulessuchasintheTrans-PacificPartnershipAgreementandTransatlanticTradeandInvestmentPartnership,whichdon鈥檛necessarilyworkinfavorofbutagainstChina,Chinashouldkeepanunderstandingandopenattitude.Inasense,traderulesareuniversal.Thoughsuchtraderulesdon鈥檛helpbutmayhurtChina鈥檚currentinterests,theycouldactuallyenhanceChina鈥檚futureinterestsinthelongterm.Thedrivingforceforreformcanhappenbecauseofnecessarytransformationcomplywithnewrules,likeChinaexperiencedwhenjoiningtheWTO.
Mostimportantly,Chinahasalotofworktodo.Inthenearfuture,China鈥檚economicaggregatewillsurpassthatoftheU.S.Asthecountryconstructsaconsumersociety,theChinesemarketwillbecomeincreasinglyimportantfortheWestandtheinternationalcommunityatlarge.Also,Chinaisabletodevisenewrulesorchangetheoldonesbasedontheexistinginternationaltradesystem.ToChina,theenlargedeconomicaggregatenotonlyprovidesopportunitiesforittocontributenewrules,butalsohelpsenhanceChina鈥檚abilitytoenforcethem.
Asanimportantinternationaleconomiccooperationforum,theG20鈥檚missionisnotonlycoordinationoffinancialandeconomicpoliciesbetweenmembers,butalsothepromotionofsustainableinternationaleconomicdevelopmentandtherealizationoffairdevelopment.Today,G20facesunprecedentedchallengesinallofthesefields.IftheHangzhouSummitcanbringconsensusonpromotinginternationalfreetradeandglobalization,whichwouldbenefitbothChinaandtheworld,itwillgodowninhistoryasasignificantlandmarkevent.
AuthorZhengYongnian,aChinaexpert,worksasthedirectorofEastAsianInstituteattheNationalUniversityofSingapore.