By Barry Carin and Ye Yu

“Since the early 1990s, the need for effective multicountry collaboration has soared, but at the same time multilateral talks have inevitably failed; deadlines have been missed; financial commitments and promises have not been honored; execution has stalled; and international collective action has fallen far short of what was offered and, more importantly, needed.”

Format is substance. The preparatory process forG20 Leaders Meetings will determine future effectiveness. The G20 is overburdened. Leaders meetings are faced with unrealistic demands and excessive expectations. The G20 is an informal organization- it has no constitution, no bylaws, no secretariat, and no compliance mechanisms. It has no formal provisions for institutional memory or continuity. Yet every country and every organization want to participate in its agenda-setting and deliberations. The informal network is growing too fragmented and cumbersome, with so many meetings, outreaches, and consultations going on. There is also an increasing demand for an effective accountability mechanism to provide teeth for the informal process.

Streamlining operations are needed to enhance the effectiveness of this group process. China is going to host the G20 in 2016. It may shun leadership, recalling the proverb that “When you are on the top of the mountain, you are unable to stand up to the cold”. However, China should take advantage of its presidency in 2016 to initiate a series of reforms of the preparatory process to ensure effectiveness of the G20.Inspired by ancient Chinese wisdom, the reforms should enhance the following values and merits:  leadership and ownership, simplicity, and softness. This paper reviews ten approaches to modernize the G20 preparatory process.

China can revitalize the G20 by updating and improving the preparatory process. Then, in 2016, when on the top of the mountain, China will be able to stand up to the cold.

The authors of this article are Barry Carin, a Senior Fellow of Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), and Ye Yu, a Associate Fellow of Shanghai Intitutes for International Studies (SIIS).

Download the file：The G20 Preparatory Process: Ten Options to Improve G20 Effectiveness