G20 set to become a global concert of powers

Comprising the world’s 20 largest economies, including the European Union, the G20 has become a de facto global concert attended by a wide range of regional powers and international institutions. Endorsed by such broad participation, its legitimacy as the premier forum on international economic cooperation highlights the importance of global governance and majorpower coordination today.

As a “concert of global powers”, the G20 Leader’s Summit in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province, on Sept 4-5 could serve as a cornerstone of world peace and economic governance.

Under the framework of the G20 system, the macroeconomic coordination among the world’s major economies managed to prevent the global economy from collapsing in 2009 and 2010. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change in December 2015, which was signed by more than 170 countries in April this year, is another case in point — so is the trilateral cooperation among China, the United States and the EU within the UN framework.

Aware of the fact that beneficial coordination is the key to avoiding clashes between major powers, Beijing has been an active participant in not only the G20 but also regional concerts like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

After assuming the G20’s rotating chair in December, China has made the 20-member bloc a diplomatic priority in an effort to push forward the globalization process and sustain global growth.

To a certain extent, many G20 affairs hinge on the coordination of past, present and future chairs, or “Troika” leadership. To secure the revolving three-member management, China, as host nation of this year’s summit, has mapped out cooperative strategies with its predecessor Turkey and successor Germany. It also frequently interacts with other members, especially the US and the EU, and major caucuses such as G7 and BRICS. In fact, China’s Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that the annual informal leaders’ meeting of BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — will be held on the sidelines of the summit.

Besides, Premier Li Keqiang hosted a 1+6 roundtable dialogue in Beijing last month with the heads of six major international organizations, including World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

The efforts made by China to make G20 a cohesive force should inspire the bloc’s members to work closely and effectively to meet the global economic challenges.

Also, non-G20 members like Egypt have been invited to the Hangzhou summit to seek solutions to their economic problems, and their participation is in line with the pursuit of balanced global development.

Derivative conferences, including the B20 for the business community, the T20 for think tanks and the C20 for civil society organizations, have also played a constructive role in connecting nongovernmental groups around the world. Efforts like these are expected to make the G20 summit in Hangzhou a big success and help China fulfill its international commitments.

Efforts ... are expected to ... help China fulfill its international commitments.