There are, however, no specific or concrete actions recommended by the leaders to turn around the world economy in the short-to-medium term.
Advertisement
The forecast is much lower than a year-on-year growth of 6.7 percent in the first half of 2016 in China, in line with the government’s target to keep its annual growth between 6.5 percent and 7 percent this year.
While China was eager to put on a show of concord in Hangzhou, tensions over the South China Sea have risen sharply, putting the Asian giant at odds with many neighbours over its expansive claims to almost all of the strategic and resource-rich waterway.
Xi said in a closing speech that leaders attending the summit chose to point out the way and set the course for the world economy.
ACKNOWLEDGING that world economy is still weak and downside risks remain, the leaders of G20 nations on Monday chose to shore up growth by coordinating fiscal, monetary and structural policies and rejecting trade protectionism. While India wanted the world to take note of terrorist attacks on its soil from “one single South Asian nation”, United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister Theresa May, still recovering from the Brexit verdict, tried to woo foreign investment and China fought for worldwide acceptance of its increased economic and military power despite slowing growth.
G20 leaders met on Monday under pressure to reboot the world economy, but a stumbling push for a Syria ceasefire and Asia’s heated territorial disputes intruded on the summit in Hangzhou.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, speaking after the summit, also said more inclusive growth was a priority in the global economy.
“The Group of 20 is like a bridge, bringing together people from all over the world”, Xi said.
“We will pursue an innovation-driven development strategy to create stronger growth drivers”, he said.
The G20 summit took place in China with rising populist sentiment discouraging leaders from making hard commitments, and a stumbling push for a Syria ceasefire and Asia’s territorial disputes intruding on the agenda.
The statement expressed “opposition to protectionism on trade and investment in all its forms”.
For countries like Britain, whose steel industry crisis has been directly blamed on a flood of cheap Chinese imports, the issue is key.
The G20 called for the formation of a global forum to take steps to address steel excess capacity and encourage adjustments, the White House said in a statement, one of the controversial issues discussed at the summit. “We can learn from each other’s experiences in managing the difficulties for our people”, he said.
On Sunday, Obama and Xi ratified the Paris climate change agreement.
The two should continue to promote cooperation in the areas of investment, energy, infrastructure and finance, Xi added.
An important issue that made its way into the G20 communique relates to excess capacity of steel.
Advertisement
“Held at a critical time for world economic growth and the transformation of the G20, the Hangzhou summit attracted wide attention from the whole world and carried high expectations”, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a press conference after the summit’s conclusion.
