Beijing aims to play bigger role in G20 ahead of Hangzhou summit

Beijing aims to play bigger rule-setting role ahead of Hangzhou summit, observers say multimedia-container

State Councilor Yang Jiechi (front, third from left) joins other officials from G20 economies at the First G20 Sherpa Meeting in Beijing on Thursday. The three-day gathering forms part of the runup to the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY

China aims to contribute more to setting global economic rules as it prepares to host the G20 summit in September, according to observers.

They made the observation as the First G20 Sherpa Meeting began in Beijing on Thursday. The three-day gathering is being attended by senior officials as part of the run-up to the summit in Hangzhou, Zhejinag province.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi, addressing Thursday's opening session, said China has several goals for hosting the summit this year. One of these is to enhance the role of the G20 from being a mechanism to tackle crises to one exercising long-term, effective management.

Yang said whether the G20 realizes this successful transformation and sees achievements in addressing new global economic challenges "concerns the overall development of all the member states and influences the very interests of all countries in the world".

He said the G20 will play a leading role, showcase ambitions and outline directions for world economic development and international economic cooperation.

The G20 is expected to draw up rules and indicators and inspect their implementation, providing benchmarks for assessing cooperation, Yang said.

Chen Fengying, a senior researcher of the world economy at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said such a shift in the G20's role will help to "address both root causes and symptoms".

The G20 represents nearly 90 percent of the global economy's volume and 80 percent of international trade. China, in addition to making its voice heard on the global stage, has begun to offer more initiatives, Chen said.

"The G20 is still irreplaceable because of its important role in leading the world economy toward robust and balanced growth," Chen said.

Huang Wei, a researcher of global economic governance at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that behind China's latest initiatives and proposed measures lies its unique philosophy and its own "rhythms of exercising economic governance".

"Given the global governance interest ... the developing countries — including the emerging economies — have received some response to their pursuits, but this is far from enough. So we need to do more in this regard," Huang said.