Xi urges G20 to continue championing open world economy

BERLIN — Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country hopes that the Group of 20 (G20) major economies will continue to champion the building of an open world economy.

Xi made the appeal in a signed article published Tuesday on mainstream German media before he travels to the European country for a state visit and the upcoming G20 Hamburg summit.

Recalling the achievements of last year's G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, Xi said the world economy still faces daunting challenges despite "further consolidation of growth momentum and the upbeat economic outlook in both the developed and emerging economies."

He urged the group, the premier forum for international economic cooperation, to continue "to follow through on the consensus reached at Hangzhou and all its previous summits and lead the way forward for the world economy."

"This serves the interest of all parties," he said in the piece, titled "To Make the World a Better Place."

China has great expectations for the Hamburg summit and supports Germany in hosting a successful meeting, he added.

In the signed article, the Chinese leader laid out his expectations for the G20, a group that gathers world's largest developed economies and leading emerging economies.

"The G20 needs to stay committed to open development, support the multilateral trading regime with the WTO at its heart, and enable trade and investment to continue to drive global economic growth," he said.

He stressed the need to uphold the spirit of partnership for win-win cooperation, which he said is G20's most critical asset.

Xi also highlighted innovative growth and long-term governance. "To cement the growth momentum of the world economy, countries need to tap into new drivers of global growth through innovation, conduct fiscal and monetary policies and structural reforms in a coordinated manner, and promote strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth of the world economy."