Approximately one and a half weeks ago in early September, Chinese President Xi Jin Ping warmly welcomed world leaders to China as they gathered together for the annual G20 Summit in Hangzhou. This important meeting marks another year of international economic cooperation and lays the foundation for further innovative progress to continue. Let’s take a look at what was achieved during this meeting and what this implies for the future.
What exactly is the G20?
The G20 was initiated in 1999 and involves 20 countries from all over the globe, namely China, the US, UK, Japan, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Russia… (check the full list here) Its purpose is to internationally cooperate to discuss global financial issues and current world economy. Over the years various guest nations and organisations (WTO, UN, IMF) have been invited as well.
Why did China choose Hangzhou for the G20?
Hangzhou is considered the pinnacle of development, having been the heart of several ancient Chinese dynasties as their capital, and now evolved as a prominent tech hub. Like a Chinese equivalent of Silicon Valley, Hangzhou is home to several well-known tech startup companies, including the famous Alibaba.
Theme for this year: “Towards an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy.”
How did China prep Hangzhou for G20?
- “G20 Green/APEC Blue“: The phrase used when referring to the clear skies and fresh air that Hangzhou and nearby cities had before and during the summit. “APEC Blue” throws back to eight years ago, coined by Beijing residents who enjoyed the blue skies during the Asia Pacific Economics Conference. The Chinese government made similar efforts for G20 to achieve the same image, temporarily shutting down factories and closely regulating streets, transportation, etc.
- Leave of residents: Hangzhou residents were given the week of September 1-7 off to travel to other places, clearing up the city’s packed population. More than two million planned to go elsewhere.
Meeting Minutes/Accomplishments
- Trade protectionism: removing protectionist policies that hinder trade
- Both China and the US stressed climate change as an international issue and hope to tackle it in partnership, with the Paris accords.
- Key economic issues such as slowdown in global growth, Britain’s exit from the EU, results from terrorist attacks, etc.
- Examining new innovation to stimulate growth, such as new technologies, new organisational models, etc.
- Green finance: financial investment in activities that help the environment
Why should you care?
The G20 summit plays a key role in determining the focus and direction that countries are steering their economic goals towards, and the consensus that these 20 countries come to will affect everyone, especially those below the poverty line. As there has been some weakening in the global economy, it is now more important than ever that the G20 summit establishes effective policies for improvement and that we stay tuned in the loop for this.
Where to next?
The next destinations for the G20 summit will be Germany in 2017 and Argentina in 2018.
