G20 leaders have responsibility to solve challenges facing the world, experts say
As leaders of the world's largest economies convene in Bali and Bangkok this month, officials and analysts have predicted that Asia, especially East Asia and China, will play a greater role in championing improved global governance.
Bali, Indonesia, will host the G20 Summit and Bangkok, Thailand, will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting, at which global leaders will deliberate on some of the most pressing issues the world faces: spillovers of the Ukraine crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and a potential global economic recession.
Lili Yan Ing, lead adviser at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, a think tank in Jakarta, said G20 leaders have the responsibility to take the necessary actions to address global challenges.
The G20 economies represent 60 percent of the world population, 80 percent of global GDP and 75 percent of global exports, and APEC brings together 21 economies along the Pacific Rim.
Ing said that the leaders should give priority to economic recovery including debt restructuring, particularly for low- and medium-income countries, waivers on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights for vaccines and lifesaving medicines, and mitigating the scarring effects of the pandemic.
She also stressed the importance of ensuring that digital transformation will provide benefits and minimize the unintended consequences on less skilled and less educated workers, and promote the switch to green energy.
She said Asia, particularly East Asia, is heading in the right direction on global governance.
"We understand world challenges; we embrace the multilateral system; we're putting effort into improving our people's welfare by increasing trade and investment (among others through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership); we are taking more responsibility in the global community; and we are taking part in solving global problems," she said.
"And the most important thing is that we are rising peacefully."
China has done that over the past 40 years, Ing said, and lifted 800 million people out of poverty while making a key contribution to global governance.
"Not only that, China (not only the government, but also its society) has put a lot of effort into developing its human capital. China has also invested in infrastructure and recently in energy transition."
China is part of the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative for the poorest countries and the agreement on the extension of the initiative. The country ranks first among G20 members in terms of the amount of debt of the poorest countries it has deferred, according to China's Foreign Ministry.
Ma Zhaoxu, vice-minister of foreign affairs, said China, as an important member of the G20, has always been active in global economic collaboration and governance and has worked to promote sustainable and balanced growth in the global economy.
He reiterated China's support for Indonesia, the holder of the rotating presidency of the G20, saying that China looks forward to the summit playing a constructive role in enhancing international collaboration on fighting COVID-19, promoting world economic recovery and safeguarding food and energy security.
Zhu Feng, dean of Nanjing University's School of International Studies, said it is important for G20 members to coordinate their responses and reinforce collaboration on various fronts as the global economy faces the prospect of a recession.
A key factor contributing to global stability and lifting the world's economic outlook, Zhu said, is how the US and China, the world's largest and second-largest economies, respectively, and members of the G20 and APEC, manage their differences and put bilateral relations back on a healthy footing.
The US move to build a technological blockade and strengthen alliances against China has further dampened the global growth outlook, Zhu said. "We hope the two meetings will offer an opportunity to stabilize relations between Beijing and Washington," he said.
He highlighted the pivotal role of developing countries and emerging markets, including China, in global governance.
Asia has served as a strong growth engine for the global economy since COVID-19 emerged, and the region has attained a high level of economic integration as the RCEP has come into force, he said.
State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a news conference in March that Asia's time had come in global governance, with a number of multilateral events being hosted by Asian countries this year.
Wang said, "We look forward to seeing emerging markets and developing nations turning from followers to forerunners and even pacesetters.
"Together we can play a more active role, speak with a bigger voice, help make the international order more just and equitable, and promote more open, inclusive, balanced and win-win globalization for all."
During a meeting with Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in September, Wang stressed the importance of major developed countries and emerging economies seeing the G20 Bali Summit as an opportunity to strengthen policy coordination and collaboration to help with global recovery.
The two ministers expressed their hope that Indonesia, as holder of the rotating presidency, will take a leadership role in encouraging all parties to stay focused on their original aspirations, maintain solidarity, and steer the summit to reach consensus on pressing issues such as food, climate, energy and supply chains.
The G20 economies reached a number of key agreements during ministerial meetings leading up to the summit. These include a pledge to continue the work envisioned for the Joint Finance and Health Task Force and build on the achievements of the Pandemic Fund, also known as the financial intermediary fund for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
The Pandemic Fund was developed with broad support from members of the G20 and beyond. More than $1.4 billion in financial commitments have been made by countries including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia and the US, as well as the European Commission, according to the World Bank.
The fund will provide additional, long-term financing to strengthen COVID prevention, preparedness and response capabilities in low-and middle-income countries and address gaps through investment and technical support at the national, regional and global levels, the bank said.
"Despite our differences, the G20 member states have come together to speak the same language — the language of humanity above all, the language of health that knows no border," Indonesia's Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said after a G20 health ministers' meeting last month.
A meeting of G20 financial and agricultural ministers last month reaffirmed the commitment of member states to use appropriate policy tools to deal with current economic and financial challenges, including food insecurity.
Zhang Jie, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' National Institute of International Strategy, said the issues of food and energy security have topped the concerns of G20 members and developing countries.
What China proposes at the G20 meeting will attract widespread attention, as it could signal the direction of the country's future diplomatic policies following the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, she said.
For China, it will also be an opportunity to champion the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, make the voices of developing countries and emerging markets better heard, and promote global governance that is fairer and more equitable, she said.