Charting a course for Global Economic Governance

The second high-level policy forum on Global Governance was held Wednesday in Beijing, convened by senior representatives from government, United Nations, leading universities and think tanks from around the world.

Co-hosted by the United Nations Development Programme and China Centre for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), the forum addressed the need to make global governance work better for all countries and people, whilst exploring the role of China and other developing countries in the evolving architecture of global economic governance.

“The challenges our world faces transcend national borders, and we need to work to be pulling in the same direction to address them effectively. We need more effective global governance to bring about transformation that is universal in nature,” said Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator in her welcome video message for the Forum.

“Improving global governance mechanism conforms to the interest of all mankind and needs the participation of international community. I hope that governments and politicians can show their faith, wisdom and courage, seek common ground while putting aside differences, work constructively and strive for substantial progress in global governance reform.” said Zhang Xiaoqiang, Executive Vice-Chairman of CCIEE.

The Forum is intended to generate fresh thinking and stimulate exchanges on global economic governance and sustainable financing for development in the post-2015 agenda as well as the role of international institutions, China and other developing countries.

“This Forum will discuss what role China, and more broadly Asia can play to support global development, through its own growth and also by actively helping others. As the most dynamic region in the world with several emerging countries, the Asia-Pacific region has huge potential to positively contribute to governance at the global level,” said Xu Haoliang, UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of the Regional Bureau of Asia-Pacific of UNDP.

“Stronger regional integration can make a difference to global economic governance. China’s role as a committed partner in both the regional and global dialogues in this regard is therefore essential,” said Xu.

Forum participants joined the debate on these important challenges while a series of panel discussions explored development policies that can ensure a more steady economic recovery, the continuity of global resource mobilization for the implementation of post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, and the opportunities for developing countries to participate in global economic governance.

“China’s economic circumstances and rapid development experience puts it in a good position to understand development issues and assume greater responsibility as a leader of developing countries on global governance issues,” said Yang Jiemian, Chairman for the Shanghai Institutes of International Studies.

The Forum recommendations are designed to inform the global development agenda next year, when three major events are going to happen, namely the Conference on sustainable financing for development, the adoption of the post-2015 agenda and COP21 climate negotiations.

A Policy Report from the Global Governance Forum will be compiled based on the key outcomes from the forum and will be published in Chinese and English early next year. It will serve as useful input for international and Chinese policy makers to draw from.