Contextualizing the 2016 G20: Global Analyses and Challenges for the Chinese Presidency

摘要

China's G20 presidency, with its core theme of "Towards an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy" is as important for China as for the world economy. For China, the 2016 presidency allows it to showcase its unique route to development and poverty reduction, so effectively shepherded over the past three decades. Therefore, heading the G20 is a timely opportunity to define China's role in global economic governance by setting goals that are both ambitious and realistic and by promoting its own initiatives and principles for the global common good. For the G20, this relatively new format of global governance has been increasingly criticized for being a talking shop, where statements follow declarations with little impact, with little success in giving new impetus to the global economy. In 2016, a number of new challenges are coming to the fore: world GDP growth is projected to fall below its long-term average, global trade is slowing down, and investment flows are declining. Against the backdrop of accumulating economic and geopolitical headwinds shaking many countries and regions, G20 leaders need to cooperate more than ever to restore sustained and sustainable growth.