Source: China Daily    Published: 2015-11-13

Leaders of the G20 countries will gather in Antalya, Turkey, on Nov 15-16 for a high-profile meeting amid expectations that they will work out measures to promote global economic development.

If one word can summarize the fruits of the group`s summit in Brisbane, Australia, in 2014, it would be "growth", because the G20 leaders promised an extra 2 percent economic growth by 2018. But the past year has not been satisfactory for global economic recovery. The International Monetary Fund recently has lowered its world growth forecast to 3.1 percent and the World Trade Organization estimates that global trade growth this year will continue to be lower than global economic growth.

These gloomy forecasts, together with a decline in global commodity prices and widely diverse monetary policies of countries, have made it even more urgent to realize the expected growth target. That is why Turkey, as the hosting country of the G20 summit, has laid emphasis on "implementation, investment and inclusiveness" and vowed to promote "inclusive growth".

The pursuit of development through global cooperation should be a key task of countries. As was seen at the third UN Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, "development" will remain the key word at the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi and the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris next month. And like the participants in the Addis Ababa conference, those attending the Nairobi and Paris meetings will also hold high-level talks to work out a development blueprint, raise development funds, promote development targets and push the development process forward.

Since the G20 countries together account for 85 percent of the gross world product, 80 percent of world trade and two-thirds of the world population, the group has the obligation to support global development agendas.

The concept of "development" has been continuously updated and its connotation enriched. Developed countries can no longer fulfill their responsibilities by just offering assistance to developing countries; they also have to establish partnerships with developing countries to promote real "development". As a major platform promoting global economic cooperation, therefore, the G20 should help the rest of the world realize that pursuing development is not a burden, because the challenges it brings about also create opportunities.

Given that opening-up is the precondition for development, the G20 countries should push for the establishment of an open world economy by opposing protectionism, breaking trade barriers, deepening economic cooperation and improving multilateral trade facilities, in order to help developing countries participate more intensively in the global value chain.

Bilateral and sub-regional trade accords can play a big role in promoting trade, but they are usually discriminatory in nature and offer limited benefits. Resources, technologies and capital can flow freely across the world to help developing countries achieve sustainable development only after bilateral and sub-regional accords are dovetailed into the existing multilateral agreements.

Since innovation is the best tool to promote development, G20 countries should expedite their research and development, share their experiences and strengthen the information platform to boost the potential for and expand the scope of economic growth. They should also take measures to clear the systemic bottlenecks restricting growth.

Development is a long-term mission that can be achieved through the implementation of proper policies.

As the host nation of the G20 summit in 2013 and also the largest developing nation, China understands better than most countries the necessity and urgency of development, and the relationships between development and opening-up, and inclusiveness and innovation. As a result of that understanding, the China-led Belt and Road Initiative is aimed at yielding common benefits. Also, the establishment of a development fund to help increase investment in least-developed countries is expected to help developing countries realize sustainable development.

Only comprehensive, balanced and inclusive growth can help remove inequality and injustice, and realize sustainable development in the true sense of the term.