2. The global financial crisis pushed the G20 to the fore and next week the grouping will take center stage. Many hope the solutions for the economic crisis – developing new financial regulations, coordinating stimulus packages, reforming financial institutions and preventing protectionism, trade wars and “deglobalization” – will be born in London.
In many ways, the G20 is the forum of the future. Other groups, particularly the G7 or G8, cannot adequately address transnational threats and there is a growing recognition that emerging economies and rising powers deserve (and need) a seat at the table. The G20 may not equally represent all regions and views or accurately reflect the international balance of power, but it peacefully incorporates new powers into the existing world order.
Critics warn that the G20 is too large and unwieldy to solve the world’s ills. They worry that there will be too many voices unwilling to compromise narrow national interests. After all, the G20 is a politically expedient option. Old powers are not traded for new ones – all are included. This means that any future group may be smaller than the Group of 20.
So where does that leave us today? Should we simply temper expectations for the summit?
The success of any global response increasingly relies on the leadership of Washington and Beijing. Last year, C. Fred Bergsten, director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, wrote an article in Foreign Affairs advocating for a G2 approach “to steer the global governance process.”
“Effective systemic defenses against international economic challenges in today’s world must start with active cooperation between its two dominant economies, the United States and China.”
Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, and Justin Yifu Lin, the Bank’s chief economist and senior vice president, recently added that “without a strong G2, the G20 will disappoint.”
The meeting next week between US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao on the summit’s sidelines will be just as important (if not more) as the G20 meeting itself.
Image from the Council on Foreign Relations.
