The 2016 G20 Summit will be held in September in Hangzhou, China. (Photo : Getty Images)
A top official of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) lauded China’s G20 leadership ahead of the September Group 20 Summit in Hangzhou.
In a recent interview with the state-run Xinhua News Agency, OECD Chief of Staff Gabriela Ramos, who also serves as the Sherpa to the G20, applauded the Chinese presidency for seeking efforts to boost global growth.
She described China's efforts as "encouraging" and "ambitious," something that can be considered a breath of fresh air to the international community.
OECD Praise
Talking on her capacity as the OECD Chief of Staff, Ramos said that the first message of the G20 presidency that China holds is that the international community seeks innovation, noting that the current standing of world economy is still "challenging."
Citing the 2008 financial crisis, Ramos said that the current G20 leadership in re-boosting growth is a big help since they had been "trying everything to re-boost the growth."
"And that's where I think that the narrative of the Chinese G20 Presidency, which is to boost for an innovation-based growth, has a good meaning. Because this is where countries are going to build their growth potential going forward," Xinhua quoted her as saying.
According to the report, she was particularly impressed with China's initiative in making the first Presidency Statement on Climate Change which indicated the group's commitment to the Paris Agreement.
She said the statement assures the signature of all G20 members in the Agreement in order to ratify it and give it legal force.
Aside from that, she also applauded China's way of integrating practical changes into the group, especially ones related to trade and investment, which she thinks is a favorable way of finding solutions to dilemmas.
"We always seem to compartmentalize these two things, but it is really well integrated. China is actually trying to advance that agenda," she said, adding that the summit to be held in Hangzhou is a way for China to "look at the issues and trying to find solutions."
G20 Summit in Hangzhou
Talking to CCTV on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that the upcoming G20 Summit aims to spur development globally by building a consensus to find solutions to economic problems.
"We are expecting the Hangzhou summit would build consensus, stand up to the world's economic woes, and offer a clear direction for growth and cooperation," Hua said. "This is a common estimate worldwide, and is in line with the global economy. As the chair country, China looks forward to coordinating efforts with all partners."
