Biggest ever Asian Games set to kick off in China’s Hangzhou

 

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On Saturday, the day of Autumn Equinox, one of the traditional Chinese solar terms, the 19th Asian Games opening ceremony 

Xi addresses welcoming banquet, says Asian Games carries aspirations for peace, solidarity and inclusiveness

Chinese President Xi Jinping extended a warm welcome to international dignitaries attending the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games at a welcoming banquet on Saturday noon in Hangzhou, East China's Province of Zhejiang Province.

Malaysian sports clearly lack confidence for Hangzhou

Frankly, the majority of the 289 athletes in Hangzhou will likely be making up the numbers in their respective events. - NSTP/AIZUDDIN SAAD

Hangzhou Asian Games expected to begin with spectacular opening ceremony

"We hope that the charm of Hangzhou can be conveyed to the world through this Asian Games." The Hangzhou Asian Games, slated to open on Saturday, September 23,2023 is expected to impress the world with a spectacular opening ceremony. #GLOBALink

Hangzhou, China – The Asian Games are finally upon us.

Delayed by a year due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions, the 19th edition of the event is set to officially begin on Saturday in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou with a two-hour opening ceremony.

Dating back to 1951, the Games are bigger than the Olympics when it comes to the number of athletes and sports – and this year’s competition is billed as the biggest in history.

Nearly 12,500 athletes – more than ever – from 45 countries and territories will be competing across 40 sports.

“It is really a pleasure to see that, after the three years of pandemic, the interest that has been generated for these Games,” said Vinod Kumar Tiwari, acting director general of the Olympic Council of Asia.

“Because these will be the first Games that will be held without any restrictions … for the first time after the pandemic.”

The Games will be held in 56 venues, 12 of which have been newly built. The programme includes the more traditional events, such as athletics and swimming but also those which reflect Asia’s diverse sporting culture, such as sepak takraw, or kick volleyball; kabaddi, a mixture of team tag and wrestling; and wushu, a martial art.

China, as the host country, has the privilege of choosing which sports to include in the programme, with bridge, chess and Xiangqi (Chinese chess) being among the non-Olympic events featured in the schedule. Meanwhile, e-sports, breakdancing and sport climbing will be making their Games debut, in an effort to attract the interest of younger people.

0 FIFA Online 4, Street Fighter V and League of Legends are among the seven e-sport medal events.

“Together, we will celebrate the beauty and diversity of e-sports,” said Wissam Trkmani, the project and operations manager at the Olympic Council of Asia, speaking at the Road to Asian Games opening ceremony in June.

“May the Road to Asian Games be a testament to the incredible achievements and unwavering dedication of e-sports athletes in Asia.”

India’s javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra [File: Denis Balibouse/Reuters] © Provided by Al Jazeera

The Games will see participants competing for 481 gold medals across 15 days.

India’s javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is arguably the biggest star to look out for at the event. He won India’s first track-and-field Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and became the world champion in August.

Chopra, who also won the Asian Games title in 2018, has 6.2 million fans on Instagram which makes him the most followed athletics star other than Usain Bolt who retired in 2017.

Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim is the Olympic high-jump champion and will go in search of a third Asian Games title after winning gold in both 2010 and 2014.

The star of the 2018 Asian Games, Riako Ikee, will also be one of the big names to watch as swimming takes centre stage in the first week of competition.

Ikee won six gold medals for Japan in the previous Asian Games hosted by Indonesia and became the first female athlete to be named the Asian Games MVP.

She was then diagnosed with leukaemia but fought back to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

Swimmer Zhang Yufei is one of China’s great hopes for a gold medal [File: Issei Kato/Reuters] © Provided by Al Jazeera

China, the Asian Games superpower

China has topped every Asian Games medal table since 1982 and is sending an 886-strong team to Hangzhou, including 13-year-old skateboarder Cui Chenxi and 60-year-old bridge player Dai Jianming.

“Be good hosts, conduct extensive friendly exchanges and demonstrate our country’s good image of reform and opening up, economic development, and social progress to Asian and international communities,” said China’s director of the National Sports Bureau, Gao Zhidan, at the team’s launch.

Gao also called for the athletes to “bring glory to the country, and fully demonstrate the immense power of China’s modern sports practice.”

Among China’s most likely medal hopefuls is swimmer Zhang Yufei.

The Olympic champion won the 100-metre butterfly at the world championships in Fukuoka earlier this year and will compete for up to seven golds in Hangzhou.

Her compatriot – 19-year-old rising star Pan Zhanle – is a favourite to win the 100-metre freestyle, having already lowered the Asian record twice in 2023.

The host nation is expected to dominate the diving events, as well as table tennis with two world number ones, Fan Zhendong and Sun Yingsha, both going for gold.

In badminton, fans will treated to two newly crowned world champions: Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn and An Seyoung of South Korea.

There is also great excitement for a potential clash between great cricket rivals India and Pakistan, after the former sent a team to the Asian Games for the first time.

The closing ceremony on October 8 will include the handover to Japan before the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games. Qatar will host the Asian Games in 2030.

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Biggest ever Asian Games set to kick off in China’s Hangzhou

Nearly 12,500 athletes – more than ever before – from 45 countries and territories 

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When Hangzhou Asian Games meets Chinese culture

By Deng Zijun and Zhang MingyuePublished: Sep 12, 2023 10:37 PM

 

 

 

 

When Hangzhou Asian Games meets Chinese culture Graphic: Deng Zijun/GT

 

When Hangzhou Asian Games meets Chinese culture Graphic: Deng Zijun/GT

 

When Hangzhou Asian Games meets Chinese culture Graphic: Deng Zijun/GT

 

When Hangzhou Asian Games meets Chinese culture Graphic: Deng Zijun/GT

 

When Hangzhou Asian Games meets Chinese culture Graphic: Deng Zijun/GT

 

When Hangzhou Asian Games meets Chinese culture Graphic: Deng Zijun/GTD

 

US media wanted 'special privileges'

President Barack Obama disembarked from Air Force One in Hangzhou, China, on Saturday. Photo: JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS

https://youtu.be/f6AmvKBrJaQ

The United States' "obsession with special privileges" lies behind several US media organization's accusation that China treated US reporters rudely during the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, sources said.

The sources, who are close to the matter, responded on condition of anonymity to news reports and opinion pieces in some US newspapers that accused China of failing to meet the US media demands.

They faulted China first with not allowing some US reporters to be close to President Barack Obama as he got off Air Force One in Hangzhou on Saturday.

Obama said on Sunday, however, that his talks on Saturday with President Xi Jinping had been "extremely productive" and that he "wouldn't overcrank the significance" of arguments that took place at the airport upon his arrival.

The Wall Street Journal complained that on Saturday "the Chinese barred Mr Obama from including his traveling press contingent in his motorcade".

The New York Times said on Tuesday that "The White House press corps, which normally has access to the president's public events wherever he travels, has been sequestered in buses 200 yards from the site of the Group of 20, without access to food or toilets."

In response, a Chinese source told China Daily that the US, brushing aside common journalistic practice in multilateral meetings, insisted on having a bus carrying about 20 US reporters follow Obama's motorcade directly to summit hall where closed-door meetings were held.

Normally, however, host countries of major multilateral meetings have journalists gather as a pool in the news center and have them go through routine security checks before they are led to the meeting hall.

Another source at the scene told China Daily that "the bus was of course not allowed to join the motorcade, according to press rules, and we arranged for the reporters to go to the news center. But some of them chose to stay on the bus, while some went to the bathrooms or the press center at the summit."

The New York Times reported that when Xi and Obama took a leisurely stroll after dinner on Saturday, "Chinese security cut the number of US journalists allowed to witness it to three from the original six, then ultimately to a single reporter".

But a second Chinese source said China "had never promised to allow six reporters".

"Because the lakeside path was too narrow for that many reporters, we proposed one on one - one reporter from the US and the other from China. Later, the US agreed it was a good arrangement," the source said.

When asked about the meeting between Xi and Obama and the so-called incidents, Mark Toner, deputy US State Department spokesman said at a news briefing on Tuesday that the "small incidents that took place on the periphery" do not take away from "the strong cooperation that we've had with China on a number of fronts over the past several years of this administration".

A Chinese source said: "It is common to make some demands, but the demands should not cross the line. The US should not be an exception."

The sources added that no other country demanded the privileges that the US sought, and "China had every reason to provide convenient arrangements to foreign reporters" because it wished to successfully host the summit.

By Zhang Yunbi and Wu Jiao(China Daily)

Contact the writer at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn

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• G20 SUMMIT CONCLUDES

• Dialogue 09/05/2016 G20 Summit concludes

  
   

   

   

  China’s multiple victories from G20 summit

  
  
  The Hangzhou G20 summit concluded Monday afternoon. China as host of the summit has garnered more global attention. China's careful organization has maximized the efficiency of the meeting, with abundant results achieved. While world opinion was reserved about the role of the G20 platform in the future, the Hangzhou summit has undoubtedly consolidated its status in global governance.
  
  From China's perspective, the summit is more successful. China's situation, its ideas and stance have all been shown to the world. It has opened the door to comprehensive communication between China and the outside world.
  
  Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his US and Russian counterparts respectively, which bears significance for global strategy. The summit also offered a chance for Sino-Japanese and Sino-South Korean ties, both of which are at a low ebb currently.
  
  China has gained a great deal of soft power through the meeting. As a rising power, China's unique system has been seen by Western media as its first identity. Some in the media were more interested in seeing China make mistakes as a host than expecting fruitful results of the summit. It turned out that the summit went smoothly and was a crowd-pleaser.
  
  The US Defense Intelligence Agency tweeted a New York Times article about the G20 and wrote, "Classy as always China" to its 83,000 followers. It later deleted the tweet and made an apology. The act only shamed the agency.
  
  The way China hosts international conferences indeed differs from the West, but so what? The Hangzhou G20 meeting has further enhanced China's confidence.
  
  The world is diverse, and China does not need to feel shy about displaying its cultural characteristics or care about what the West thinks.
  
  Many countries are simply shouting out slogans, while China is dedicated to actions. Picturesque Hangzhou becomes more beautiful after hosting the G20. Despite some criticisms, its positive impact will long be enjoyed by Hangzhou residents and domestic travelers.
  
  China has encountered some controversies and challenges during its hosting of the G20 summit, but now they are all gone. This is a valuable process for China as it conveys the meaning of being a major power.
  
  As long as we are firm and dedicated, we will be confident that even if there are some errors, we can be at ease about it.
  
  During China's rise, we will keep changing our understanding of success and become more skilled in coping with the West. Development still tops the agenda. Rapid development is the biggest parameter for China to win respect and discourse power, and how the West sees us is one of the least important factors.
  
  We also got to know what world unity is. China should make contributions to unite the world. The Hangzhou G20 summit proves that China has such capabilities and doing so suits our interests. - Global Times
  

China puts its stamp on global governance at G20 Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping presides over the opening ceremony of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept 4, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

The ceremonies, handshakes, meetings and speeches, banquets and performances of this year's G20 Summit have now come to an end.

In fact, they ended on Monday after the leaders of the world's 20 major economies met in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, and a long list of agreements were signed. Check details of the final communiqué

But these were not the be-all and end-all of the 2016 G20, as it is likely to have a lasting legacy in international relations, with China leaving its stamp on the G20 as a mechanism to coordinate future actions by the world's leading economies.

China's contribution to the 2016 G20 has been significant in two ways.

First, China has demonstrated unswerving commitment to globalization, more specifically to defending free trade and cross-border investment and business cooperation, despite the fact that it can no longer easily increase its own exports by relying on low-cost labor, and that many processing operations formerly based in China have relocated elsewhere.

Amid growing calls for protectionism worldwide, pessimism about the future, and fear of sharing opportunities with foreigners, China understands that it must set an example by working with other countries to defend the existing global market system.

Just as President Xi Jinping told the delegates at the Business 20, a sideline session of the G20 Summit, on Saturday, rather than overturning the existing system, what China wants is to expand the global market system, to make it include more nations, more workers and more entrepreneurs.

China has also cautioned against attempts to seek self-protection, and politically defined small-circle games, since they tend to rewrite the rules for the global system and worsen the problems plaguing the world economy. On Sunday, Xi again called on the G20 members to continue to promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.

Second, China's contribution has also been significant in the way the G20's agenda has been aligned with the long-term goals and programs set out by the United Nations. China has contributed substantial content to affect this, including its efforts to nurture cooperation among the emerging market economies and inviting more leaders from developing nations to participate in the G20 process, as well as the proposal for a common e-commerce platform for small and medium-sized enterprises across the world.

To brave the rough waters of the world economy and start a new journey for future global growth, the G20 should not only help the world coordinate efforts to deal with emergencies, as was its original purpose following the onset of the global financial crisis, it should also focus on long-term governance. It should address both the symptoms and root causes of the world's economic problems with real actions, so as to spread opportunities where there are few or none.

In anti-globalization, anger and divisiveness hold sway. Globalization, on the other hand, requires people from different countries to exchange views, compare notes and learn from one another.

However, the G20 members can do more than just talk. They can generate more trade and cross-border investment deals, showcase more innovations, provide more services, and extend help to more poor people and under-developed nations. In the process, the G20 can become more important by finding "a direction and a course for the world economy with a strategic vision", as Xi has urged. In this way it can help realize people's common aspirations for sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. - China Daily

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Beijing's prescriptions may sound too good to be executable at this point, but not if the G20 members, as Xi called for, "work with real action with no empty talk".


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G20 Summit in Hangzhou

Leaders pose for pictures during the G20 Leaders Summit at the Hangzhou International Expo Center in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on Sunday. WU ZHIYI/CHINA DAILY

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G20 Summit opens in Hangzhou, Xi delivers keynote speech

 http://english.cctv.com/2016/09/04/VIDEc5kKPpOOSbfGBwyHqtbP160904.shtml

Video: President Xi delivers speech at G20 banquet

Video: President Xi delivers speech at G20 banquetChinese President Xi Jinping urges world leaders to avoid "empty talk" and confront sluggish economic growth and rising protectionism as their summit opens in the scenic city of Hangzhou.http://english.cctv.com/2016/09/04/VIDEAYffDNcMahOalCr6FgGB160904.shtml

Action, not words, needed to lift economy - President tells world leaders China will strive to boost growth, aid development

President Xi Jinping urged the leaders of the world's biggest economies to deliver "real action" and "no empty talk" as they attempt to steer the global economy out of its sluggish state.

In his opening speech at the start of the two-day G20 Summit on Sunday, he said the G20 had drawn up action plans in multiple fields, including sustainable development, green finance, energy efficiency and anti-corruption, "and we should implement each of them seriously".

The Hangzhou summit has come at a time when the world economy is plagued by problems, short and long term, such as poor growth momentum, changing demographics, rising trade protectionism and low investment, Xi said.

But he insisted that G20 members will "face the problems squarely" and collaborate in developing solutions.

World leaders vowed at the meeting to find workable solutions to restore strong growth and achieve more-inclusive development that reduces inequality. They also agreed that more focus should be placed on structural reforms, innovation and high-technology, as traditional growth engines have weakened.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said leaders had agreed that they must work together to boost global economic growth, and she welcomed China's focus on structural reform.

She added that digital ministers from the world's biggest economies will meet for the first time next year and that the group planned to set up a task force for innovation, Reuters reported.

Xi said in his speech that while the world needs to better coordinate monetary and fiscal policies and carry out structural reforms, priority should be given to achieving balanced growth. He said the G20 will help less-developed countries, including those in Africa, with industrialization as well as green energy and finance to bridge the gaps in global development.

The G20 has been criticized in the past for failing to take concrete measures to coordinate world economies. While urging members to take substantial action, Xi said the group "should continue to build our mechanisms to ensure our cooperation continues and deepens".

"The G20 is becoming more systematic and is changing from a short-term arrangement to handle crises to a long-term dialogue and action mechanism," according to Chen Wenling, chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. "To make it more effective, the G20 should establish a secretariat."

Wang Wen, acting director of Renmin University of China's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, added: "The G20 used to be driven by crises, and now it's driven by ideas. China has provided a global consensus at the Hangzhou summit that will drive global joint action."

World economic growth－still made in China

By Stephen S. Roach (China Daily)

Despite all the hand-wringing over China's slower economic growth, the Chinese economy remains the single largest contributor to world GDP growth. For a global economy limping along at stall speed－and most likely unable to withstand a significant shock without toppling into renewed recession－that contribution is all the more important.

A few numbers bear this out. If Chinese GDP growth reaches 6.7 percent in 2016－in line with the government's official target and only slightly above the International Monetary Fund's latest prediction of 6.6 percent－China would account for 1.2 percentage points of world GDP growth. With the IMF currently expecting only 3.1 percent global growth this year, China would contribute nearly 39 percent of the total.

That share dwarfs the contribution of other major economies. For example, while the United States is widely praised for a solid recovery, its GDP is expected to grow by just 2.2 percent in 2016－enough to contribute just 0.3 percentage points to overall world GDP growth, or only about one-fourth of the contribution made by China.

The European economy is expected to add a mere 0.2 percentage points to world growth, and Japan not even 0.1 percentage points. China's contribution to global growth is, in fact, 50 percent larger than the combined contribution of 0.8 percentage points likely to be made by all of the advanced economies.

Moreover, no developing economy comes close to China's contribution to global growth. India's GDP is expected to grow by 7.4 percent this year, or 0.8 percentage points faster than China. But the Chinese economy accounts for fully 18 percent of world output (measured on the basis of purchasing power parity)－more than double India's 7.6 percent share. That means India's contribution to global GDP growth is likely to be just 0.6 percentage points this year－only half the boost of 1.2 percentage points expected from China.

More broadly, China is expected to account for fully 73 percent of the total growth of the BRICS grouping of large developing economies. The gains in India of 7.4 percent and South Africa 0.1 percent are offset by ongoing recessions in Russia, minus 1.2 percent and Brazil, minus 3.3 percent. Excluding China, BRICS GDP growth is expected to be 3.2 percent in 2016.

So, no matter how you slice it, China remains the world's major growth engine. Yes, the Chinese economy has slowed significantly from the 10 percent average annual growth recorded during the 1980-2011 period. But even after transitioning to the slower growth of what the Chinese leadership has dubbed the new normal, global economic growth remains heavily dependent on China.

There are three key implications of a persistent China-centric global growth dynamic.

First, and most obvious, continued deceleration of Chinese growth would have a much greater impact on an otherwise weak global economy than would be the case if the world were growing at something closer to its longer-term trend of 3.6 percent. Excluding China, world GDP growth would be about 1.9 percent in 2016－below the 2.5 percent threshold commonly associated with global recessions.

The second implication, related to the first, is that the widely feared economic "hard landing" for China would have a devastating global impact. Every decline in Chinese GDP growth of one percentage point knocks close to 0.2 percentage points directly off world GDP; including the spillover effects of foreign trade, the total global growth impact would be around 0.3 percentage points.

Defining a Chinese hard landing as a halving of the current 6.7 percent growth rate, the combined direct and indirect effects of such an outcome would consequently knock about one percentage point off overall global growth. In such a scenario, there is no way the world could avoid another full-blown recession.

Finally (and more likely in my view), there are the global impacts of a successful rebalancing of the Chinese economy. The world stands to benefit greatly if the components of China's GDP continue to shift from manufacturing-led exports and investment to services and household consumption.

Under those circumstances, Chinese domestic demand has the potential to become an increasingly important source of export-led growth for China's major trading partners－provided, of course, that other countries are granted free and open access to rapidly expanding Chinese markets. A successful Chinese rebalancing scenario has the potential to jump-start global demand with a new and important source of aggregate demand－a powerful antidote to an otherwise sluggish world. That possibility should not be ignored, as political pressures bear down on the global trade debate.

All in all, despite all the focus on the US, Europe, or Japan, China continues to hold the trump card in today's weakened global economy. While a Chinese hard landing would be disastrous, a successful rebalancing would be an unqualified boon. That could well make the prognosis for China the decisive factor in the global economic outlook.

While the latest monthly indicators show China's economy stabilizing at around the 6.7 percent growth rate recorded in the first half of 2016, there can be no mistaking the headwinds looming in the second half of the year. In particular, the possibility of a further downshift in private-sector fixed-asset investment could exacerbate the ongoing pressures associated with deleveraging, persistently weak external demand, and a faltering property cycle.

But, unlike the major economies of the advanced world, where policy space is severely constrained, the Chinese authorities have ample scope for accommodative moves that could shore up economic activity. And, unlike the major economies of the developed world, which constantly struggle with a trade-off between short-term cyclical pressures and longer-term structural reforms, China is perfectly capable of addressing both sets of challenges simultaneously.

To the extent that the Chinese leadership is able to maintain such a multi-dimensional policy and reform focus, a weak and still vulnerable global economy can only benefit. The world needs a successful China more than ever.

The author is a faculty member at Yale University and a former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, and author of Unbalanced: The Codependency of America and China. Project Syndicate

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G20 summit recognizes China's success, a historic starting point for the world, expert said

All in a day’s work: Chinese President Xi Jinping attending the opening ceremony of the B20 Summit ahead of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. ...

G20 summit recognizes China's success, a historic starting point for the world, expert said

All in a day’s work: Chinese President Xi Jinping attending the opening ceremony of the B20 Summit ahead of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. — Reuters

MOSCOW: The fact that the G20 summit will be held in Hangzhou, China, reflects the global recognition of and respect for China’s giant economic success, a leading Russian economic expert has said.

“The international community admits that China has become a major economic power, which largely determines the economic development of the whole world,” Vyacheslav Kholodkov, head of the International Economic Organisa­tions Department at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, told Xinhua.

As the second-largest economy of the world, China has a strong impact over global economic processes, the economist said, adding that the performance of China’s stock markets and its import of energy resources exert a powerful influence on world markets.

Kholodkov also expressed the belief that the Western media today have exaggerated and distorted the existing problems with the Chinese economy.

“China’s economic success is like a thorn on the side of many Western politicians and journalists, because it shows that there are other more successful models besides the Western liberal economic model,” the expert noted.

In his opinion, the current problems plaguing China were those of structural adjustments and shifts in economic development pattern.

If previously China’s development had been driven mainly by exports, it is now shifting from an export-oriented development model to focusing on domestic demand, Kholodkov said.

Kholodkov saw “nothing dramatic” in such a development, as other countries that experienced similar problems have survived such transitional periods.

China’s GDP grew by 6.9% last year, a rate to be envied by many countries, according to Kholod­kov.

China presents an example for many developing countries, including Russia, which are closely watching China’s experiences and following some of its trends in their political practices, he concluded. — China Daily/Asia News Network

Summit can be historic starting point for the world

President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama meet at the West Lake State Guest House in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Saturday. Wu Zhiyi / China Daily

The Austria-born American management philosopher Peter Drucker once attributed the absence of right-wing fanaticism in North America to the self-organizational ability of society, represented, first of all, by the thousands of well-managed business enterprises.

That point should be appreciated today, when, eight years after the 2008 global financial crisis, all major economic powers still cannot guarantee a sustainable recovery for the world.

The annual meeting of the G20 bears witness to the shared will and joint efforts of the leading developed and developing economies in the world. All countries have so far remained steadfast in their agreement to hold a defensive line for the globalist agenda. There has not been a full-scale trade war and competitive currency depreciations－at least not yet.

The global financial crisis has cast a very long shadow, with growing income inequality in many places and corporations holding onto their capital instead of investing, and judging from the rising protectionism, along with some ideologically-charged rhetoric, from various political forces, there are some who seem willing to set back or spoil the globalization process.

A genuine "mass flourishing" of businesses is needed to help the world both stay on the course of globalization and avoid the malaise that caused the last crisis.

That is why the G20 created, alongside its annual summit, a business leaders' meeting, called the Business 20. That is also why the G20 needs not just a business leaders' meeting, but also a distilled vision of common concerns and necessary actions, which is what President Xi Jinping delivered in his keynote speech at the B20 Summit on Saturday.

Drucker proposed that long-range planning does not deal with future decisions, but with the future of present decisions. In his speech Xi urged all parties to prescribe remedies to the world's economic problems and explore new sources of growth and expand the space for development.

The foreign guests can see for themselves through Hangzhou, the host city of the G20 and B20 summits, how China has become a leader of growth, as the city is home to many new businesses and new management models.

As Xi said it is an unprecedented achievement for a country with such a large population to realize modernization. The more businesses are created, the more they spread from developed to under-developed areas. In the process, obsolete industries are phased out and new ones emerge, jobs are created, and cities such as Hangzhou become vibrant.

The same process can also prove true elsewhere in the world. - (China Daily)/ANN

China plays a key role in setting G20 agenda

The G20 summit meets against the backdrop of two interrelated global issues.First,since the international financial crisis global growth has been slow. Second, asa result social and geopolitical crises have persisted. China’s proposals for the G20 summit – an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive economy –simultaneously and in an integrated way address both issues.

China’s four proposals are inseparably connected:

Innovation, in technology and in management, logistics, skills and ideas, is indispensable for sustained economic development.

But innovation purely in ideas is insufficient to lead to sustained economic development. Advances in ICT technology, for example, had to be embodied in investment in internet and computer technologyto produce productivity gains. Therefore, the global economy must be invigorated through increased investment, new trade liberalisation agreements, new financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and modifications in global economic governance. This requires drawing on numerous resources in global economy and finance.

Development is most powerful if internationally integrated. Since Adam Smith founded modern economics it has been known that the most powerful force developing productivity is division of labour, which in a globalised economy necessarily includes international division of labour.Retreats into protectionism deeply damage the world economy. But advancing international division of labour requires not only legal trade and investment agreements but development of internationally integrated infrastructure making such trade possible and supporting international investment. Such integration highlights the importance of China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’initiative,while China supports economic integration in Africa, Latin America, Europe and elsewhere.

Development must be inclusive both between and within countries.Failure of sections of the world’s population to benefit from economic development is dangerous politically. Impoverishment of sections of the population and social disintegration has led to terrorist organisations gaining support, andin some cases open warfare, in parts of Africa and the Middle East. Within advanced economies failure of parts of the population to gain from economic growth strengthens protectionist and xenophobic forces which threaten global economic integration and therefore global prosperity.

Success in developing innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive economic growth will therefore lessen geopolitical and social tensions.

China is in an unequalled position to give leadership on this G20 agenda not only theoretically but due to China’s practical achievements in dealing both with the international financial crisis and over the longer term.From 2007, the last year before the financial crisis, to 2015 China accounted for 46% of world growth measured at current exchange rates – compared to 22% for the second placed US.China was the world economy’s most powerful engine to face the international financial crisis, benefitting both advanced and developing economies.

World Bank data shows 83% of the world’s population still lives in developing countries. Economic development therefore remains the most pressing issue facing humanity. China, the world’s largest developing economy, increased its per capita GDP, the fundamental index of economic development, from 2007 to 2015 by 86% - the fastest of any G20 country.

China playsa key G20 agenda setting role because, in addition to these shorter term anti-crisis trends, China’s historical economic and social achievements are unprecedented.From 1978 onwards China experienced the most rapid economic growth in a major economy in human history. China lifted 728 million people from World Bank defined poverty, 83% of the reduction of those living in poverty in the world. This is greatest contribution of any country to human well-being.

But despite these achievements China’s stress on integrated inclusive growth means China has no conception it can successfully develop alone. Instead China advocates strengthening the G20’s role. G20 economies account for 85% of world GDP, including the largest advanced and developing economies. The G20 is therefore provides an unequalled forum to coordinate measures to deal with the world’s most pressing economic issues.

China’s proposals for an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive economy are therefore crucial not only for this year’s Hangzhou summit but a step towards the G20s strategic development.

By John Ross (People's Daily Online)

John Ross is Senior Fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China.

G20 can unlock global economic potential

The 2016 G20 Hangzhou summit will kick off on Sunday and a related meeting, the Business 20, will be held this weekend. As China is the chair of this year's G20, expectations are running high though some still try to interpret the event through an ideological lens. But the fact that the global governance capability will be mobilized to its maximal extent at this year's summit may be a common consensus.

China sees G20 as a top item on its agenda and has strived to create favorable conditions for the summit. Some say too much attention has been put on G20. However, the positive significance of a successful G20 overweighs the negative effect. From the perspective of urban development, the summit has promoted Hangzhou's growth and image.

China is a unique member of G20. It is the world's second-largest economy and the largest developing country. It has excelled in some areas but the overall economic and social development is not as advanced as in some other countries. China's high speed development together with its experience, from both successes and mistakes, make us easier to find common ground with both developed nations and emerging markets.

China is sincere about promoting global governance and creating a win-win situation in resolving world economic issues. China's rise, to some extent, is the result of globalization. Chinese believe strengthening international cooperation is a global trend and are devoted to the win-win principle. We believe the G20 playing a greater role will benefit China and the world.

Compared to the time of the first G20 summit in 2008, the global economic issues have become more complicated and morale has taken a further beating. Eight years after the financial crisis, the developed nations have yet to walk out of the shadows and the emerging markets are facing increasingly grave challenges. G20 needs a passionate summit and the enthusiasm of the Chinese society will help make it happen.

There is still great potential in the global economy and the key is to redistribute resources more reasonably so that less developed regions can drive growth that benefits all sides. The same issue has also been haunting China. The country has been restructuring and developing through the process of reform. The exploration belongs as much to China as to the world.

Macroeconomics may not be the most popular stories. Some Western media tend to politicize the summit or sprinkle their coverage with gossip. The summit only takes two days and the topics proposed by China revolve around the economy. As the global economy is once again at a crossroad, we hope the media can make the call heard for an "Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive" world economy. Global Times

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