Interview: Developing nations expect pivotal role from China in global governance

Many developing nations hope China play a more important role in global governance, an Argentine economist has told Xinhua.

Gustavo Girado, founder and director of the Asia & Argentina Consultancy, made the remarks as China starts countdown to a Group of 20 (G20) summit to be held in September in the coastal city of Hangzhou.

"This will be a special summit for a number of reasons. About 85 percent of the global GDP is represented in the G20. These countries have to tackle the lasting effects of the global crisis, the fall of international trade and the worsening of foreign relations," said Girado.

He predicts that the upcoming summit will see a debate on how to revive sluggish growth, with some favoring policy stimulus and others underscoring structural adjustments and austerity.

The creation of Chinese-led institutions, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, are allowing China to play a larger role than ever in the global economic arena, the economist said.

However, reactions to this trend are not all positive ones and some Western countries have increased protectionist measures against China recently, Girado noted.

As he sees it, such measures reflect double standards on the part of protectionist countries as they demand higher level of market openness from developing nations while closing off their own.

That is why Girado feels China should "assume an ever more important role in global governance as the rules for an updated financial order are still being written."

Regarding economies in Latin America, Girado said that a realignment of conservative forces and a return to economic orthodoxy is under way.

"The policies in the region might differ but the problems are the same: financial difficulties, social unrest and new governments facing the same challenges as old ones. From this perspective, the G20 will be crucial for all of Latin America, especially Argentina," he said. Endi