World financial crisis: still not out of the woods

The world economy, once mired in a deep and nasty crisis, is slowly getting back on its feet. But the coast is not clear, as world trade is being overshadowed by sharply rising protectionist measures.

There is no denying that protectionism doesn't help anyone, so leaders at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh said it was imperative to stand together to fight the problem.

Besides, the financial crisis continues to throw millions of people into poverty and is reversing some of the hard-won development gains of the past decade, a UN report said.

Joblessness also remains high in many countries, including the United States, where the unemployment rate has hit 9.7 percent, the highest level since 1983.

Therefore, the G20 leaders said "our work is not done," pledging to maintain stimulus measures to support economic activity until recovery is fully assured.

The Leaders' Statement issued after the G20 summit ended said that far more needs to be done to protect consumers, depositors, and investors against abusive market practices. The statement vowed to strengthen the international financial regulatory system to avoid future crisis.

The leaders agreed to improve their support for emerging and developing countries and to increase developing countries' voting weight at the IMF by at least 5 percent. That move was hailed by He Yafei, China's vice foreign minister, as a key achievement of the summit.

Multilateralism: a necessary approach

From curbing climate change to pushing for nuclear disarmament, voices calling for global cooperation and multilateralism were heard once again this week.

"The economy is global. We find ourselves in the same boat," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said during the G20 summit.

Medvedev's words echoed with those of Ban, who called for "genuine" collective action to tackle climate change as well as global poverty and nuclear proliferation.

"If ever there were a time to act in a spirit of renewed multilateralism -- a moment to create a United Nations of genuine collective action -- it is now," Ban said.

Different from George W. Bush's go-it-alone style, Obama suggested global engagement and cooperation to solve the world's most pressing problems.

In his speech to the General Assembly, Hu also stressed the importance of cooperation, tolerance and mutual trust.

"The only way for us to meet these challenges and ensure harmony and peace is to engage in closer international cooperation," the Chinese president said.

The week of multilateral meetings and talks demonstrated the political will of the world leaders to promote international cooperation in the face of various existing and looming threats and challenges.

This week, the whole world is watching, looking forward to seeing the words translated into deeds.

(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2009)