From Washington to Hangzhou, G20 comes to right place at right time
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E-mail Xinhua, September 6, 2016
On a chilly, wet day in early winter of 2008, leaders of the world's 20 major economies gathered at the height of the global financial crisis in downtown Washington.
An air of anxiety hung over the U.S. National Building Museum, the meeting venue, as the crisis had pushed the global financial system to the brink of systemic meltdown, and the developed economies at the eye of the storm were out of solutions.
Emerging economies were called in for reinforcement to salvage a global economy on the ropes. It was the first time these countries sat at the table for top-level design of the global economic governance system.
"We are in this together, we'll come through this together," said then U.S. President George W. Bush, who chaired the summit, calling for "a serious global response" to rein in the turmoil.
Eight years later, on a balmy day in early autumn, leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies descended upon eastern China's Hangzhou, an ancient city renowned for its picturesque West Lake and home to a flourishing digital economy.
It is the first time for China to host such an eye-catching gathering with focus on global governance. The timing of the summit is even more appropriate as the world economy struggles at another crucial moment.
The fragile global recovery is groping for new growth drivers, financial supervision is riddled with loopholes, protectionism is growing, an anti-globalization wave is rising, and the Western-centric international cooperation mechanisms don't work well.
After helping pull the world economy through the crisis, the G20 mechanism has produced much more talk than action, as the world economy set off on a bumpy road of recovery.
Most developed economies have been holding tight to the "master key" of monetary easing to stimulate the economy, but have accomplished little in painful but necessary structural reforms.
Over the period, China has taken bold steps to transform its economy at the price of slower growth. These endeavors have been especially strong since 2012, when the Communist Party of China's 18th National Congress saw Xi Jinping take the helm of the ruling party.
To address the acute challenges of uneven, uncoordinated and unsustainable development, China has implemented a vision of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, making the Chinese economy a rarely bright spot in the global economy.
The weak world economy and problematic global governance system are thirsty for China's wisdom and ideas to solve the conundrum. It is fitting that the G20 summit has come to Hangzhou, China.
The G20 summit has come to the right country at the right time, the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations said in a recent symposium report.
The Chinese economy's "new normal" of slower but higher-quality growth has much to offer to a world economy mired in the "new mediocre."
The country, which has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty in less than four decades, might provide answers for building an inclusive global economy.
China, as the single largest contributor and stabilizer of the world economy, has prescribed a remedy: to build an innovative, open, interconnected and inclusive world economy.
Merely relying on fiscal and monetary policies doesn't work, and innovation holds the key to a fresh round of growth and prosperity, all G20 members drew the conclusion on Monday.
For the G20, which risked becoming less relevant, President Xi called upon all members to "make the G20 group an action team instead of a talk shop."
The bloc, which includes developed and emerging economies, represents 90 percent of the world's economy and two-thirds of the global population. It is the premier forum for global economic cooperation.
The Hangzhou summit has made a point of pushing the group to transform from a crisis response mechanism focused on short-term policies to one of long-term governance that shapes medium- to long-term policies.
Seeking harmony and coexistence is in the genes of the Chinese nation and represents the essence of Eastern Civilization.
China has turned to this wisdom, injecting new vitality into the sinking global governance system.
Global governance should be about participation and benefits for all. Instead of seeking dominance or winner-takes-all results, it should encourage the sharing of interests and win-win prospects, Xi said.
The Chinese president called for global economic governance to increase the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries, and to ensure that all countries have equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules to follow in international economic cooperation.
To make economic globalization more inclusive, the Hangzhou summit has, for the first time, put the issue of development front and center in the global macro policy framework. The first action plan has been formulated for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For the first time, cooperation is in place to support Africa and the least developed countries in their industrialization.
In Hangzhou, President Xi and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama handed over their instruments of joining the Paris Agreement on climate change separately to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday. At the summit, all G20 members agreed to take the lead in implementing the Paris Agreement.
In a city described by the Venetian traveller Marco Polo some 800 years ago as most noble and magnificent city in the world, not only has the G20 obtained an opportunity for rebirth, but the world and mankind have arrived at a new starting point.
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