China is set to take a bigger role as it prepares to host the G20 summit in September, with the aim to contribute more to establishing global economic rules, observers said.
China Daily reported that the observation was made during the First G20 Sherpa Meeting in Beijing on Thursday, Jan. 14, a three-day gathering attended by senior officials as part of the run-up to the summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.
In his address during the opening session, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said that one of China's goals for hosting the summit this year is to boost the G20's role from being a mechanism to tackle crises to one that exercises long-term, effective management.
Yang said that the G20 must realize that successful transformation and its achievements in addressing new global economic challenges "concerns the overall development of all the member states and influences the very interests of all countries in the world."
Yang noted that the G20 will play a leading role by showcasing its goals and outlining the directions for world economic development and international economic cooperation.
The G20 is expected to draw up rules and indicators and monitor and check their implementation by providing benchmarks for assessing cooperation, Yang said.
Chen Fengying, a senior researcher of the world economy at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said that a shift in the G20's role will help "address both root causes and symptoms."
Chen noted that the G20 represents nearly 90 percent of the global economy's volume and 80 percent of international trade. The researcher said that in addition to making its voice heard on the global stage, China has also begun to offer more initiatives.
Huang Wei, a researcher of global economic governance at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that China's unique philosophy and its own "rhythms of exercising economic governance" provide the basis for its latest initiatives and proposed measures.
"Given the global governance interest . . . the developing countries--including the emerging economies--have received some response to their pursuits, but this is far from enough. So we need to do more in this regard," Huang said.
According to the report, this year's G20 Summit will be held on Sept. 4 and 5 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.
The report said that four Sherpa Meetings will convene before the summit to prepare for it and one afterward for follow-up work. These include the following meetings:
Jan. 13-15: First Sherpa Meeting, Beijing
April 6-8: Second Sherpa Meeting, Guangzhou
June 23-25: Third Sherpa Meeting, Xiamen
Early September: Fourth Sherpa Meeting, Hangzhou
Late October / early November: Fifth Sherpa Meeting, Wuhan
Meetings for finance ministers and central bank governors will also be held for the financial agenda. The dates and locations of the meetings are:
Feb. 26-27: First meeting, Shanghai
April 13-14: Second meeting, Washington, D.C.
July 23-24: Third meeting, Chengdu
Oct. 6: Finance ministers and central bank governors working dinner, Washington D.C.
Meetings of trade, employment, energy and agriculture ministers and the working groups will be held separately during the summit.