Spotlight: Global expectations diverse as 100-day countdown to G20 summit starts

Observers and economists worldwide have voiced diverse expectations on coordination of policies among the Group of 20 (G20) countries, especially on development, economic governance and climate, as the 100-day countdown to the G20 summit kicks off on Friday.

The theme for this year's G20 summit, to be held in China's eastern city of Hangzhou on Sept. 4-5, is "towards an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy."

Some economists said the key words are reflective of the current world economy, while others said the summit is a chance for China to showcase its achievement as well as leadership in economic and social development.

"To me the most important of those (key words) is probably 'invigorated' because the G20 is about global economic growth first and foremost. I think that's the first challenge especially at a time when the global economy is not in very good shape and most economies are struggling to find a strong and sustainable growth and balanced growth," said Matthew Goodman, senior advisor for Asian economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

The world has experienced a prolonged period of sluggish economic growth since the international financial crisis of 2008. Eight years on, global trade growth has remained subdued, and monetary policies across the major economies are very divided. While the advanced economies are recovering at different paces, some emerging economies are facing strong headwinds.

Guntram Wolff, director of the Brussels European and Global Economic Laboratory, said that he looks forward to the summit focusing on issues such as growing income disparity, stability of the financial system, climate change and immigration.

Immigration is an issue that concerns many countries, he said.

Luis Antonio Paulino, an economist at Sao Paulo State University, Brazil, said that he looks forward to the G20 playing a role in addressing the challenges of sluggish global economic and trade growth.

The world economy overall faces the need for a transformation, and the coordination and cooperation among members of the G20, which accounts for 85 percent of the global economic output, should be important to prevent the world economy from sliding further, he said.

"Brazil, for its part, will be looking at the negotiations on agriculture," he said, adding that it is a diplomatic priority for Brazil to boost cooperation with other major emerging economies.

The promotion of trade and investment is another area where most experts expect the G20 summit to make its influence felt. Global trade growth has unprecedentedly been below 3 percent for several years.

"It's not a negotiating forum but the G20 can do some things beyond what it has done to date. I think it would be very helpful if China chose one or two specific parts of the global trade agenda, for example, the environmental goods negotiations, and tried to get the leaders at the G20 summit to push forward the negotiations towards an early conclusion," Goodman said.

"China has a golden opportunity to take leadership for the next steps on the WTO (World Trade Organization)," said Fredrik Erixon, director of the Brussels-based European Center for International Political Economy.

International experts lauded the role China has played at G20 meetings, including its role in pushing for a joint commitment on climate change earlier this year.

China has announced that it is making solid progress in pushing for the G20 summit to produce concrete efforts in aspects such as reinvigorating sustainable and inclusive global growth, promoting trade and investment, coordinating policies to stabilize the financial markets, combating climate change and fighting corruption, among others.

Observers said they expect China to fulfil the leadership role. Gerishon Ikiara, an expert from Kenya, said many developing countries will be watching the role China plays as a large developing economy.

Some experts said it is not wise to either expect too much or too little from the G20 summit. The G20 also has its challenges, Ikiara said.

Still, the G20 summit can be expected to be watched by the world. Stewart Patrick, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said in a recent article that Hangzhou makes a good choice for the G20 as it is a symbol of China's rise and its grand ambitions.

The city, which used to be the terminus of the Old Silk Road and described by Marco Polo as "the most beautiful and prosperous city in the world," has "seen its population swell from 2.4 to 8.9 million since 2000, (and) is the headquarters of the internet giant Alibaba," he wrote. Endi