G20 summit offers opportunities for cooperation: former Canadian PM

OTTAWA - Former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said Sunday that the upcoming summit of the Group of 20 (G20) will offer opportunities for cooperation and to make globalization work.

Martin, an architect of the G20, was giving advice for current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he heads to the Hangzhou summit to be held on Sept. 4-5.

There will be opportunities for cooperation, Martin said, adding that both Canada and China will be strong advocates for infrastructure at the G20.

"On a broader level ... Canada's prosperity is increasingly tied to China's -- and there's a sense of imperative in making sure Canada doesn't get left behind as the world looks to Asia," he told the National Post newspaper.

Martin also highlighted the strength of global multilateral institutions.

There is a consensus that the World Trade Organization should not be written off the way it has been in recent years and that the central banks have gone as far as they can go with monetary policy "without the fiscal side playing its role," said Martin.

In advocating support for these and other multilateral institutions, Trudeau has an opportunity to "play the leading role in making globalization work," Martin said.

Besides, Martin said there are people in some countries such as the United States who blame trade for the global economic slowdown.

However, he said, it is important to point out that aging populations are taking a significant toll on growth, in Japan, China, North America and Europe alike.

"In an economy that is changing dramatically because of the tremendous onset of technological change, the answer there is going to be found in education, it's going to be found in research and innovation," said Martin.