Xi to promote open economy at summit

Gathering of G20 leaders in Osaka will address challenges facing global growth

President Xi Jinping arrived in Japan on Thursday for the G20 Summit amid hopes that the gathering of the leaders of major economies representing about 80 percent of the world's GDP would address challenges to global economic growth.

Xi will put forth his propositions on the world's economic situation and global economic governance at the summit, according to a statement released after his arrival in Osaka.

International experts and media are watching for whether the summit will pave the way for multilateralism that will help to promote an open world economy, amid threats posed by rising unilateralism and protectionism.

The G20 has played a significant role over the past 20 years in promoting liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment and global economic governance, said Xu Xiujun, a senior researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"It is hoped that G20 leaders will reach a new consensus on building an open economy, work out practical measures to uphold the authority of the World Trade Organization and make necessary reforms to the international body," Xu said.

This year's G20 Summit comes as the global economy has been feeling pain from China-US trade friction, which experts said was initiated by Washington as a result of rising unilateralism and protectionism.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged G20 leaders to take the lead in implementing policies that promote equitable growth.

Guterres said in a letter to G20 leaders made public on Wednesday that equitable growth includes shaping an international financial system that is well-suited to achieving sustainable development for all.

With the rules-based multilateral trading system in crisis, G20 countries must take the lead in advancing the necessary reforms of the WTO, he said.

Although many G20 economies have repeatedly called for coordination of economic policies, the bloc is still divided on certain thorny issues. The G20 ministerial meeting failed this month to include opposing trade protectionism in the joint statement due to objections from the United States.

Eiichi Shindo, professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba in Japan, said the G20 Osaka Summit should focus on contributing constructive ideas to new global governance as well as world economic and social development. "China and Japan should work together on this front. I hope China will help improve global governance, given that it has played a huge role in promoting international free trade and building an open economy," Shindo said.

All eyes are also on the expected meeting between Xi and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit to see whether they will reach a truce on the trade friction between the world's two largest economies.

Xu said that if the US expresses sincerity and upholds dialogue with mutual respect and on an equal footing, the Xi-Trump meeting in Osaka would set a new trajectory for improved economic and trade relations between Beijing and Washington.

Mikhail Petrov, a journalist at Russia's TASS news agency, said his organization is closely watching the development of the Xi-Trump meeting.

"How the situation develops will have a bearing not only on China and the US, but the world, including Russia," Petrov said.

Yohei Koide, a journalist at Mainichi Shimbun, a major newspaper in Japan, said he has been awaiting the meeting between Xi and Trump. "Whether China and the US can get along with each other, whether the negotiations go smoothly, affects all parts of the rest of the world. I hope they will bring good results for all," Koide said.