Interview: China makes hefty contributions to G20 Hamburg summit -- diplomat

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders attending the 12th Summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies pose for a group photo in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

by Xinhua writers Yan Feng, Zhu Sheng

BERLIN, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China made major contributions to the Group of 20 (G20) summit held last week in Hamburg, a Chinese diplomat has said.

The G20 Hamburg summit, held on July 7-8, was themed "Shaping an Interconnected World" and carried forward the principles rooted in last year's summit in Hangzhou, China, which highlighted innovation, vitality, interconnectivity and inclusiveness, Wang Weidong, commercial counselor of the Chinese embassy in Germany, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Wang said the Hamburg summit continued the discussions of the Hangzhou summit on issues such as the digital economy, sustainable development, deepening partnership with Africa and promoting international anti-corruption cooperation.

This ensures the coherence and sustainability of the G20 agenda, Wang added.

At the Hamburg summit, the G20 leaders agreed to support free trade, globalization and open markets, and oppose protectionism. They pledged to further strengthen cooperation to seek a collective solution to the problems of global overcapacity.

Except the United States, the other 19 members agreed that the Paris climate accord was irreversible and remained committed to it.

"(The summit) on the one hand maintains the G20 as an important platform for global economic governance to ensure that the G20 continues to play an active role. On the other hand, it shows the unity of the G20 in the face of crisis and difficulties and sends a positive message," Wang noted.

The diplomat added that bilateral meetings held on the sidelines further emphasized the need for free trade and globalization.

China has taken an active part in the transformation of the G20 group. After successfully hosting the Hangzhou summit last year, China worked together with this year's host Germany to ensure a continuation of the consensus reached last year, Wang said.

"China has worked hard to promote the transformation of the G20 to ensure its long-term governance. This is one of China's contributions to the global governance system," he said.

China has insisted on openness and inclusiveness in resolving the problem of world economic imbalance. This has helped increase the confidence of countries about future economic development, Wang said.

During the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech calling on all parties to stay committed to building an open global economy, foster new points of growth, work together for more inclusive growth, and continue improving global economic governance.

Wang said China is committed to implementing the G20 consensus. While maintaining its own growth to remain a "stabilizer" and "ballast stone" of the world economy, China has worked hard on the Belt and Road Initiative to ensure that dozens of countries around the world reap its benefits.

Wang said the initiative is a public product China has provided for the world, and for countries to work together to promote strong, sustainable, and inclusive growth.