G20 china_web

Strengthening the G20 system
This year's summit is a chance to
implement multilateral innovation
MATTHEW CAVANAUGH-POOL/GETTY IMAGES
George W Bush hosts the
inaugural G20 summit in
Washington DC, 2008
its five permanent members. It was swept
under the carpet by a series of overlapping
stumbling blocks. Crisis succeeded where
subtle diplomatic negotiations had failed.
Intelligent reaction
The crisis brought about the need to create
a ‘political G20’, an institution where
the major G7 members of the West could
discuss their decisions and the costs of
those decisions with the large powers
emerging on five continents.
It was one of the best outcomes of the
reactions to the crisis because, unlike many
others, it was not a short-lived reaction
solely concerned with the demands of
publicity. It was an intelligent, long-term
solution and exactly what was needed for
effective multilateral politics.
That appears to be missing today, with
the exception of the success of the climate
change conference in Paris last December.
Crossover agreements
The G20 has been useful, particularly
during its initial period. Between 2008
and 2011 it made concrete decisions that
effectively helped end the financial and
economic crisis.
Geographical history of the G20
Year Host country Host leader
2008 United States George W. Bush
2009 United Kingdom Gordon Brown
2009 United States Barack Obama
2010 Canada Stephen Harper
2010 Korea Lee Myung-bak
2011 France Nicolas Sarkozy
2012 Mexico Felipe Calderón
2013 Russia Vladimir Putin
2014 Australia Tony Abbott
2015 Turkey Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan
2016 China Xi Jinping
2017 Germany Angela Merkel
The G20's formation
was an intelligent,
long-term solution
and exactly what was
needed for effective
multilateral politics
For example, the G20 decided upon
and managed the effective end of trade
protectionism. It was a dangerous reaction
by countries affected by the financial crisis.
This was possible because the G20 was
designed as an institution in which both
states and international organisations are
included in debates and decision making at
the same time.
Therein lies the answer to another
complicated question the international
community has been asking for years:
how to reach crossover agreements. We
have always had to work in silos, subject
by subject, without finding the crossover
agreements that are the only way to solve
some complicated problems.
This was the case, for example, in
trade negotiations at the World Trade
Organization. There, only parallel
agreements in other areas, such as
agriculture, development aid, copyright
and the environment, could overcome
such obstacles.
Reviving innovation
Another case of productive cooperation
within the G20 and with other international
organisations is the fight against tax
havens. The G20 had many of the qualities
necessary to create a watershed in the
history of the multilateral system.
Until today we have experienced a story
that could be described as a partial success
or perhaps as a potential success. Recent
G20 summits have not had the influence
of the very first meetings. The decisions
between 2008 and 2011 made history.
We should attach great importance to
this year's G20 summit in China. The fact
that China was so keen to host the 2016
G20 provides us with a chance to revive the
G20, an important and now unavoidable
innovation of the multilateral system. G20
G7G20.com September 2016 • G20 China: The Hangzhou Summit 231