Here is what you need to know about G20 leaders’ summit

The 13th G20 Leaders’ Summit, under the theme of “building consensus for fair and sustainable development,” will take place Friday to Saturday in Buenos Aires, the capital city of #Argentina. Media hail the role of the G20 Leaders’ Summit on the world stage as “indispensable.” However, do you know why it started and how it functions?

In the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Western countries realized that developed countries in the West could not resolve global financial challenges. Emerging economies, as part of the global financial system, had to be included, too. Based on the proposal put forward at the G7 Finance Ministers’ Meeting in 1999, finance ministers and bank governors met in Berlin, Germany, in December of the same year, symbolizing the official launch of G20. Before 2008, G20 financial ministers and bank governors would hold an annual meeting. When the 2008 financial crisis broke out, the first G20 Leaders’ Summit took place in Washington to coordinate global economic and financial polies in responding to the crisis. Since then, the G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting and the G20 Leaders’ Summit meet regularly to discuss global issues of common concern and to tackle global growth challenges. Instead of a voting mechanism, the G20 Leaders’ Summit functions through consensus decision making reached by the leaders through discussions and negotiations. G20 Leaders’ Summits have held 12 summits by the end of 2017 and each one of them focused on different global issues.

All topics discussed fall into three categories: reforming the financial system, improving international financial supervision, and coordinating macroeconomic policies. Global economic governance, climate change, energy issues, and other global concerns often also appear on the discussion list. With the aim of stabilizing the global financial system and promoting long-term sustainable growth, the G20, which accounts for 90% of global economic output, 75% of international trade, and 67% of the world’s population, plays an indispensable in dealing with global challenges.

(People’s Daily）