President Xi calls on G20 to advance global governance

President Xi Jinping has urged the G20 to continue to act as a force to improve global governance and move history forward, as this main forum for international economic cooperation is now confronting a more fragmented world economy than it was in 2008. Xi made the call while attending the second session of the G20 Summit on Monday afternoon. The session was a platform for discussions about reforming global governance.

"It has been 16 years since the G20 Summit was launched. Over the years, we have worked in solidarity to tackle the global financial crisis, promoted cooperation on global economy, finance and trade, and steered the world economy onto the track of recovery," Xi said.

Consisting of 19 countries and two regional bodies of the African Union and the European Union, the G20 represents around 85 percent of the world's GDP, more than 75 percent of world trade and around two-thirds of the world's population.

To improve global trade governance and build a world economy characterized by openness, the Chinese president said development should be placed at the center of the international economic and trade agenda, and trade and investment liberalization and facilitation should be steadily advanced.

He stressed the need to press ahead with reforming the World Trade Organization (WTO), oppose unilateralism and protectionism, restore the normal functioning of the dispute-settlement mechanism as soon as possible, and reach an early consensus on an e-commerce agreement.

"It is important to avoid politicizing economic issues, avoid fragmenting the global market, and avoid taking protectionist moves in the name of green and low-carbon development," Xi told the participating leaders.

The Chinese president made the appeal at a time when the WTO's principle of free and fair trade has been challenged by certain countries' politicization of trade and investment for geopolitical reasons. The global market also is fragmented by such acts as the imposition of high tariffs, experts said.

"For example, while the US turns to Mexico and other countries for trade from China on the pretext of national security, the European Union is more focused on its domestic market in the name of diversification," said Shi Shiwei, a senior research fellow at the University of International Business and Economics' Research Center for China-EU Economic Cooperation.

Shi said that as a result, trade between countries has become more difficult, steering the world economy away from globalization.

Xi noted in his remarks: "We should keep in mind that mankind lives in a community with a shared future; see each other's development as opportunities rather than challenges; and view each other as partners rather than rivals."

He also urged the G20 members to build a greater international consensus in the economic, financial, trade, digital and eco-environmental fields, among others, to improve global governance and promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

"China stands ready to continue to deepen international cooperation with all sides on green infrastructure, green energy, green mining and green transport and will provide support to developing countries to the best of its ability," Xi said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also defended on Monday the reform of global governance during the second session. "The answer to the crisis of multilateralism is more multilateralism. It is not necessary to wait for a new world war or an economic collapse to promote the transformations that the international order needs," he said.

Noting that global security governance is part and parcel of global governance, Xi said that the G20 should support the United Nations and its Security Council in playing a greater role and support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises.

"To de-escalate the Ukraine crisis and seek a political settlement, we should follow the principles of no expansion of the battlefields, no escalation of hostilities and no fanning flames," Xi said. He also stressed the urgency of all sides to stop fighting in Gaza, to end that war, and provide support for easing the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East region and for postwar reconstruction.

The G20 Rio de Janeiro Leaders' Declaration was adopted at the summit.