Foreign
AS multilateralism is the megatrend and emerging economies now have an increasingly bigger say in international affairs, G7 nations should treat developing countries with more equality, a Chinese expert has said.
“It is time for G7 to be quiet and have a bigger ear rather than a very loud mouth,’’ said Victor Gao on Tuesday.
Gao is the vice president of the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based non-governmental think tank, commenting on the Group of 20 (G20) summit that just concluded in New Delhi.
The meeting which began on Sept. 9, with the leaders of the world’s major economies agreeding to admit African Union (AU) as a new member, giving developing countries a greater voice and more representation.
“The emerging economies are the tomorrow of the world.
“Increasingly, the Group of Seven will realise that their future lies in more connections with the rest of the Group of 20, rather than continue portraying themselves.
“This serves as the representative of the truth, nothing but the truth,’’ said Gao in a recent interview with Xinhua.
However, Gao said the G20 can be divided into two categories.
“One is the G7, which represents the developed countries and is more or less outdated because that’s not the future of the world.’’
While the other is the emerging economies or very important members of the Global South.
“The future belongs to the Global South, especially the major emerging economies because you are talking about a larger population, more dynamic economy and aspiration among the people to benefit from global economic development,’’ Gao said.
He added that the Global South countries want to engage with each other on equal terms.
They also want to treat each other as equals and be treated as equals.
Gao also stressed that a current affairs commentator and a former interpreter for the late Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping was the chief architect of China’s reform and opening-up.
The G20, founded in 1999 in response to several world economic crises, is a major forum for discussing financial and economic issues.
It previously comprised 19 countries plus the European Union (EU).
Gao called on the G20 to focus on economic development and try to come up with solutions to economic development issues and environmental issues and promote cooperation across national boundaries.
He saw danger that some G20 members want to misuse the platform of the G20 to talk about issues not related to the mandate of the G20.
This is something everyone needed to guard against.
“Sometimes I keep chuckling when I see some of the G7 nations behaving as if they were representing the global community. No, they barely represent themselves.’’
From the BRICS to the G20, the voice of the Global South has been tuned up.
“That means they will not tolerate unipolarity.
“They firmly believe that the world we live in is a world of multipolarity. Multilateralism is the megatrend,’’ Gao said. (Xinhua/NAN)
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-September. 12, 2023 @ 14:26 GMT |
Tags: Deng Xiaoping G7 countries the BRICS The G20
