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Demystifying three myths about the G20

By Jiang Shixue: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, September 6, 2013

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[By Zhai Haijun/China.org.cn]

While the world is looking in interest at the G20 Leaders' Summit that is currently being held in St. Petersburg, there are three myths about the summit that must be demystified.

Myth 1: The G20 is the idle talk of grand leaders. It is said that the G20 was impotent during the financial crisis when it was most needed. According to some observers, because the G20 Summit is all talk, it is nothing but hand-shaking, group photos, banquets and a joint communiqué full of glib cliches and meaningless economic verbiage. Many argue that the smiling faces of the leaders at the G20 Summit provide little comfort for the world.

On the eve of the London G20 Summit in 2009, the leaders and their partners sat down to separate meals at No. 10 and No. 11 Downing Street, and enjoyed a sumptuous menu of seasonal produce from around the UK. As a result, UK taxpayers were left with a bill of around ￡500,000 for wining and dining the G20 leaders, and their spouses and aides.

An Australian newspaper said, "[Having] Australia host the G20 Summit in 2014 is a waste of time, money and government resources. For a country that has a population of fewer than 30 million, what do they expect to achieve?"

Despite the extravagant banquets, the G20 should not be seen only as a waste of money or time.

Firstly, in a relatively short period of time, the G20 has become the main forum for coordinated action to combat the global financial crisis and other issues. Previous G20 summits have increased global confidence. Without them, the world economy would have sunk deeper into crisis.

Secondly, tangible achievements have been made. For instance, the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) was founded in 1999 by the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, and was re-established as the Financial Stability Board (FSB) with a broadened mandate to promote financial stability. At almost every summit a consensus was reached on important issues such as reforming the IMF.

Thirdly, the G20 combines the best of the G8 and the UN. The IMF and the World bank have a poor reputation among developing countries. The G8 only represents the rich nations and the UN is too big to reach a consensus. As a result, something new is required to manage the world economy. The G20 is ideal for this purpose. The world should be grateful to Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, who proposed raising the G20 level from the ministerial level to a summit in 2004.

Needless to say, the G20 should not be complacent. Each member has its own wish-list. The G20 leaders vow to fight protectionism at every summit, but have never kept their promise.

According to the World Bank, the G20 nations have accounted for the vast majority of the 1,000 new protectionist measures introduced between November 2008 and March 2012. Increasing IMF quotas for the emerging economies, a key component of IMF reform, was agreed many years ago, but the plan has yet to be materialized.

Myth 2: The G20 is capable of accomplishing everything. Some propose that the G20 should become an economic United Nations Security Council or take care of all global issues, including political matters such as human rights and terrorism.

The G20 is not a panacea. It has become the "top forum" for international economic cooperation. In particular, in the face of the international financial crisis, the G20 acted decisively and effectively to coordinate macroeconomic policies and boost confidence. But the G20 cannot solve all problems. We should have a balanced and realistic assessment of the G20's role.

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