The Rio G20 Summit: China’s Endeavour for Global Economic Governance

Accepting the mantle of the rotating G20 presidency from India, Brazil is hosting the G20 Leaders’ Summit in the seaside city of Rio de Janeiro on November 18 and 19 as the chair of the influential group for the first time in its capacity, bringing together 19 of the world’s leading economies along with the 55-member African Union and the European Union on a single platform.

The 19th G20 summit also turns out to be a special summit as it is the first time that the African Union has joined the grouping’s Brazil meeting as a member. The two-day high-profile summit comes at a critical time when the world is troubled with great uncertainties.

Brazil’s agenda for G20 Summit

As the host country, Brazil set the theme for the 2024 summit “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet” with an aim to enable developing countries – the Global South – to gain greater access to the global economy. The theme suggests that the future and destiny of each nation are closely connected and all countries within their existing political frameworks should work together to create a global community with a shared future that best serves the fundamental interests of all people.

By assuming the presidency of the G20, Brazil has a golden opportunity to place the nation’s narrative on the global agenda. As President Lula stated: “To Brazil, taking on the G20 presidency is more than an honor, it’s a commitment. We are committed to placing the fight against hunger, extreme poverty and inequality at the center of the international agenda.”

The Rio G20 summit opened with President Lula officially launching the “Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty” to achieve the goal of eliminating extreme hunger worldwide by the United Nations’ 2030 deadline.

World leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, among other prominent members of major economies, gather for the two-day annual summit meeting at the invitation of Brazilian President Lula. Quite expectedly, the eyes of the world are once again on the premier forum for international economic cooperation as President Xi Jinping rightly highlighted: “The mechanism belongs not only to its members but also to the entire world.”

It is expected that world leaders from developing and emerging economies will use their growing economic and political influence to underline their resolve to counter Western hegemony led by successive U.S. administrations. Their aim is to set the direction and cooperation for a stronger G20 that can play a significant role in global governance and economic development in the post-pandemic era.

China’s role in global economic governance

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, an upholder of international order, as well as a mediator of hot-spot issues and a provider of public welfare. Being the world’s second-largest economy, China is committed to upholding multilateralism and has carried out fruitful communication and coordination in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, G20, BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Since the inaugural G20 Summit in 2008 in Washington, China has shouldered its due role in the Group, contributing to addressing the fragility of the global economy.

Certainly, China has sent a strong signal by hosting the 2016 G20 summit in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province, that the country has more ambition and capacity to make the world a better place. China has effectively adjusted its policies at home and abroad to promote global economic recovery, which was the most important goal at the start of the G20 when the 2008 global financial crisis affected many countries. It should be noted that China came up with a massive economic stimulus package and provided $1.1 trillion along with other G20 members at the 2009 London Summit. China added $50 billion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost the recovery and international financial stability. China’s strong support helped the world economy gradually recover.

China’s efforts to hold the G20 together are commendable. Chinese contributions to the G20 framework made the 11th G20 Hangzhou Summit the most fruitful since the founding of the G20. China will not settle for the G20 as a mere talking shop; it wants to see positive action and is doing everything in its power to get the right outcome for the global economy. It can be summarized by the words from President Xi: “As the saying goes, if you want to walk fast, walk alone; if you want to walk far, walk together,” as he made a speech at the 9th G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia in November 2014.

Undoubtedly, the 2016 Hangzhou Summit left an economic legacy with a landmark Chinese resolution that is felt far and wide in the global economy. It is President Xi who is making a bold call for an innovative global economy that generates growth; an open economy seeking to expand the scope of development; an interconnected economy that forges an interactive dynamism and an inclusive economy that creates the foundations for mutually beneficial outcomes for all.

In recent years, China has written new chapters with the outside world through significant global initiatives and projects including the Belt and Road Initiative, Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative.

The G20 summit is not a chessboard for geopolitical competition with global powers. It is a platform for collective action, coordination and consensus building to strengthen multilateralism to make the world a more just place. The whole world wants to hear China’s voice and see China’s solutions to globalization, multilateralism, free trade, climate change and global governance at a time of global uncertainty.

The article reflects the author’s opinions, and not necessarily the views of China Focus.