G20 expected to be 'ambitious' on innovation, trade, investment: Italian experts

ROME - Scholars and economists from global think tanks expect the G20 summit in September to be "ambitious" on key challenges weighing on global economy, an Italian economist said.

Hundreds of Chinese and international experts attended the Think 20 (T20) Summit, which was held in Beijing on July 29-30, a preparatory meeting for the G20 summit.

They delivered a proposal document named "Policy Recommendations to the G20" for the G20 summit to be held in Hangzhou, China, in September.

"First of all, we stressed the need to continue the constructive dialogue to understand how to better face the current global political and economic uncertainty," Andrea Goldstein, managing director of Bologna-based think-tank Nomisma, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Besides an economic outlook and an analysis of current major risks, the document comprised key recommendations on how to enhance economic growth potential, improve global governance, and further promote global trade and cooperation on investment and development.

"We expressed appreciation for the role China is playing, and the expectations have risen around issues crucially relevant such as development and innovation," the economist said.

"A second key point in our document was a call for the G20 to be ambitious in some fields, for example in so-called development finance, especially in the view of trying to achieve the commitments made at the Paris climate conference (COP21)."

Economists and scholars would also expect G20 leaders to be more courageous on global trade, which has been showing a slowdown in latest years, the expert added.

"Global trade growth rate is currently lower than global gross domestic product (GDP) growth," he said. They urged strong initiatives in the investment field.

The upcoming G20 summit will gather leaders from of the world's main developed and developing economies. As such, their leaders will indeed be expected to offer answers to the challenging economic environment, he said.

The first two would about slow global GDP growth, whose is expected to fall below its long-term average, and the trade slowdown, according to the analyst.

"These issues will require global actors to discuss new measures to foster a sustained growth, for example through a new plan of investments."

Protectionist tensions would be another priority. In the context of global economic slowdown, worrying signals of stronger pressure to close trade borders would in fact emerge, the expert said.

Certain steps were already taken by the G20 trade ministers, who met in Shanghai in early July and agreed to cut the costs of trade, boost financing, and increase policy coordination.

"Finally, a fourth challenge is linked to the global sustainable development agenda," the Italian economist pointed out.

He noted this would be the first G20 summit after two crucial agreements: the global climate deal reached at the Paris climate conference in Dec. 2015, and the approval of UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development last year.

"It will be the first opportunity for world leaders to reflect all together on how to achieve such goals, how to finance them, and how to help poor countries to fulfill these commitments," he said.