Xi's G20 Summit opening speech reverberates across world

BEIJING - When addressing the opening ceremony of the G20 Hangzhou Summit on Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping not only identified major challenges facing the global economy but also prescribed remedies to revive sluggish growth, said experts and observers from different parts of the world.

Ignacio Martinez Cortes, a researcher on China at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), spoke highly of Xi's call on G20 members to improve coordination on macroeconomic policies in order to jointly ensure financial stability and find new engines of economic growth.

Another key proposal by Xi for the G20 is to reject new protectionist measures and build a more open global economy, Cortes noted.

He also highlighted Xi's emphasis on inclusive and balanced global growth, saying that he believes China will play an even bigger role in helping less developed nations achieve development targets.

The Mexican scholar said he was happy to see that China is getting ready for a leading role in devising an agenda for sustainable development.

Meanwhile, Paris-based global affairs analyst David Gosset said Xi's G20 speech is of great significance as it came at a time when the world is facing multiple challenges.

To name a few, poor growth figures, deteriorating environment, and regional tensions affecting relations between G20 members are all weighing on, said Gosset, who is also a renowned Sinologist.

"The high expectations for the summit can be explained by the unique context surrounding it, and also by the recognition that it can have a positive impact at a critical moment in the global affairs," the French expert said when asked to comment on Xi's G20 speech.

Gosset noted that Xi has asked his G20 colleagues to avoid empty talks -- he wants concrete results and effectiveness.

As he sees it, at present there is probably no better place than in China to reassure countries facing economic difficulties and to send a message of confidence for the future of the global economy, since China is still among the best-performing economies in the G20 club despite a gradual slowdown.

While it is unrealistic to expect the G20 Hangzhou Summit to solve all the world's problems, it can certainly infuse a spirit, he said.

The spirit of the G20 Hangzhou Summit "takes its roots in the imperatives of creativity, harmony and inclusiveness" and such a spirit can "enrich our collective wisdom and is an encouragement for mankind to envision a common dream of peace and happiness," Gosset concluded.

For Mahmoud Allam, Egypt's former ambassador to China, Xi's G20 speech reflects China's aspiration to help build a better world, and it is also a proof of the country's role as a bridge between developed and developing countries.

In his speech, Xi called on the G20 leading economies to support developing countries and take concrete measures so as to avoid a scenario that these countries are stripped of the opportunities to draw foreign investment, participate in global trade and improve the livelihood of their people, the former ambassador said.

He also noted that Xi has pledged comprehensive support for developing nations. "China, itself being a developing country, wants to pay back the support it has received from developing countries by boosting their development."

Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, a business association based in Brussels, talked about two things in Xi's G20 speech that impressed him most, one being digital economy as a new drive of global growth and the other free trade.

Noting that trade protectionism is on the rise and the anti-globalization movement is also gaining momentum, Gambardella said that China, as the world's second largest economy, is taking on the responsibility to build an open global economy, and its efforts are increasingly recognized by Western countries.

Donald J Lewis, an expert of international trade now teaching at the Stanford Law School, said Xi's speech shows that China is a responsible stake-holder and also a leader in reviving the global economy and revamping global governance.

China's focus on inclusive growth is also refreshing against the backdrop of rising protectionism, he said, adding that the world needs a more open global trade framework and a rejuvenation of multilateral trade system so as to facilitate sustainable growth.