G20 china_web

4 th Leader's view
Summit
China’s proposal to centre this year’s
discussion on achieving an innovative,
invigorated, interconnected and inclusive
world economy is right on the mark. The
‘four Is’ subsume some of the most important
challenges – or opportunities, depending on how they
are framed – facing G20 governments in their goal of
achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth.
I would like to share Mexico’s achievements in the
realms of interconnection and inclusiveness.
Interconnectedness and inclusion in Mexico
Investing in quality infrastructure has a direct impact
on the enhancement of connectivity and inclusion,
boosting competitiveness and contributing in general
to economic growth and sustainable development.
For that reason, in 2014 Mexico launched the National
Infrastructure Programme, supported in part by
collaborative work with the private sector through
public-private partnerships, and encompassing
key sectors such as energy, transportation,
communications, water management, healthcare,
tourism, housing and urban development.
In its first two years, the programme has contributed
to the creation of new jobs and is generating an
environment conducive to the flourishing of new
businesses and increased productivity. Several projects
are underway, including 32,000 kilometres of new or
refurbished toll highways and roads, the doubling of our
seaport’s capacity to 500 million tonnes, increasing gas
pipelines by 85 per cent to 21,282 kilometres, and the
construction of the New International Airport of Mexico
City, which is expected to start operating by 2020.
A second set of priority projects involves the creation,
for the first time in Mexico’s history, of Special Economic
Zones in the South and Southeast of Mexico. This area,
despite its productive and logistics potential, has for
years lagged behind as a result of structural barriers.
The projects will be paired with fiscal incentives and
policies aimed at developing human capital and
fostering innovation and technology transfers.
Both the National Infrastructure Programme and
the Special Economic Zones focus on facilitating
the integration of local firms, namely micro, small
and medium-sized enterprises, into national and
global value chains, hence contributing to Mexico’s
interconnection and inclusiveness. The ultimate
Mexico has designed a
comprehensive National
Policy for Financial Inclusion,
consisting of six core pillars
2012
Elected
Enrique Peña Nieto
President, Mexico
objectives of these efforts include reducing regional
gaps, promoting sustainable development and
improving the prosperity of every citizen in Mexico.
Financial inclusion
In its role as president of the G20, China has also given
more prominence to financial inclusion, a crucial
aspect of the development of the financial system and
economic growth. Despite the technological advances of
the past two decades, there are sectors of the population
that still do not have sufficient access to financial tools
to engage in productive economic activities, even in
countries with what are considered to be deep financial
markets. Bringing these individuals into a safe financial
network can break barriers that disenfranchise and
marginalise them, and provide them with concrete
opportunities to reach a better life.
Mexico has designed a comprehensive National
Policy for Financial Inclusion, consisting of six core
pillars: developing capabilities for a more efficient use
of the financial system, through financial education
programmes; promoting the use of technological
innovations that enable lower transaction costs;
enhancing the supply of financial services; encouraging
the access and use of formal financial services through
the design of carefully tailored products and services;
developing greater trust in the financial system through
strengthened consumer protection mechanisms; and
generating data and indicators to assess performance
and identify areas of opportunity for the design of new
financial inclusion tools.
We have also leveraged one of the largest social
welfare programmes in the region, PROSPERA, to
increase financial inclusion by promoting access to
financial education mechanisms, microloans, savings
schemes and life insurance to more than one million
beneficiaries. By the end of the first quarter of 2016,
more than 900,000 individuals in rural areas have
acquired microfinance opportunities; 82 per cent of
them live in towns of less than 15,000 inhabitants.
We are also in the first year of operation of a new
programme targeting young Mexicans aged between 18
and 30 years with little or no credit history, to help them
start-up or consolidate a business. We had awarded
almost 1,000 soft loans, fostering financial inclusion,
entrepreneurship and economic growth.
With these and other actions, Mexico contributes to
the G20’s mission of achieving strong, sustainable and
balanced growth. I wish to commend Chinese President
Xi Jinping for his leadership during his country’s
presidency of the G20 in 2016. I am confident that the
Hangzhou Summit will become a milestone of our
political determination to work together and create new
paths for growth, to build more efficient and effective
global economic and financial governance, to have
robust international trade and investment, and to attain
an inclusive and interconnected development. G20
G7G20.com September 2016 • G20 China: The Hangzhou Summit 21