The 2015 G20 Think Tank Summit, the largest so far, opened in Beijing on Thursday, with the theme of global governance and open economy.

The summit is being attended by top think tank representatives, politicians, experts and guests from 20 countries including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany. The summit will help provide intellectual support for the G20 summit held at end of this year in Turkey and for G20 summit to be held in China in 2016.

Representatives will discuss and debate possible paths for the strong, sustainable and balanced growth of global economy, aiming to offer feasible policy recommendations to national and world leaders.

Carlos Magarinos, chairman of Global Alliance of SMEs and former UNIDO Director General, said it will be the first time that China participates in global governance top-level design when it hosts the G20 summit next year. He said the think tank will help China shape its global influence.

Former prime minister of Spain Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero also said in his speech that China's think tanks have been very active and influential in recent years through China's Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Initiatives, as well as the G20 summit. He said that this is a reflection that China is leading global progress and Spanish people would love to join in the great progress.

Zhang Jun, director-general of the International Economic Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, also said, "The G20's development and growth are an objective reflection of the international economic situation, and are positive progress for global economic governance. This is the foremost international economic cooperative mechanism with equal participation and equal decision-making by developed and developing countries. And as China will be the chair in 2016, it is rather exceptional and significant. China is the active builder and also the beneficiary of the mechanism."

The summit forum is being hosted by Renmin University of China. It was co-organized by the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of World Economics and Politics and the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey.

The annual G20 Think Tank Summit report "Cooperation for Growth: Building a Global Economic Coordination System" was also released at the opening ceremony.

The report said "China is set to host the G20 summit in 2016 and as the primary global forum on economic cooperation, the G20 should be responsible for top-down design and relevant planning. The host of G20, on the other hand, is supposed to spearhead efforts to tackle major global challenges while promoting the legacy of previous G20 work and driving the mechanism forward."

It also noted that the G20 should give priority to end the slow growth that has plagued the world since the financial crisis, with a view to usher in strong, sustainable and balanced growth. "As the medium-term goal of the global economic growth has been determined and commitments of G20 members have been proposed, what we need now is a comprehensive and 'great cooperation framework' for G20 economic policy, " it read.

The G20 Think Tank Summit will be held from July 30 to August 1, 2015，with a joint statement to be issued on Saturday.

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