For Joint Global Efforts

The G20 Extraordinary Virtual Leaders’ Summit on COVID-19 was held on March 26, 2020. Leaders of major economies and important international organizations joined the meeting to discuss the fight against the global pandemic and seek a solution to ensure the healthy growth of the world economy. The Extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit Statement on COVID-19 was released, bringing the world confidence for fighting the pandemic and energy for steady economic growth.

An ancient Chinese poem goes that “From far away you share this moment with me.” The summit was an example of the spirit of global unity. It showed major countries’ responsibility and mission in global governance. The virtual summit also demonstrated the importance and strong appeal of the idea of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Currently, COVID-19 is spreading rapidly across the world. At press time, there had been more than 400,000 confirmed cases in over 190 countries and regions. The pandemic has not only brought tremendous pressure to the global public health system and countries around the world, but also turned out to be a heavy blow to the world economy. There is a famous line in a poem of Mao Zedong reading: “Warm and cold, we share together.” This is just what the human society is experiencing.  

An Extraordinary Summit for a Shared Future

The pandemic is a major crisis facing the entire mankind. The opening of the summit testified to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s idea that “humanity is a community with a shared future.” Just as Xi said, it is imperative for the international community to stand together and look out for each other to triumph over the outbreak. Since Xi first proposed building a community with a shared future for humanity in 2013, this important vision has exerted positive and far-reaching influence on the international community. Facing the formidable COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world set aside disputes and cooperate together. While dealing with their own epidemic and economic growth issues, many countries have offered a helping hand to others in trouble, which is a successful practice of the idea of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

At this very moment when COVID-19 has become a global pandemic and poses the threat of global economic shutdown, the virtual summit for coordination in coping with the pandemic and ensuring economic growth among G20 leaders is considered to have particular significance.

First, members of the G20 are major developed or emerging economies, accounting for two thirds of the world population, nearly 90 percent of the global GDP, and nearly 80 percent of the world’s total trade volume. G20 leaders promised during the summit “a transparent, robust, coordinated, large-scale and science-based global response in the spirit of solidarity” and said that they “are strongly committed to presenting a united front against this common threat,” which is crucial for safeguarding the health of people, saving lives around the world, mitigating the blow to the world economy, restoring economic growth and building up resilience for global recovery. In a manner of speaking, the effective control of the pandemic among G20 members will indicate a victory on the largest battlefield against COVID-19, and the recovery of economic growth of G20 members will make it possible for a strong global recovery.

Second, the G20 was first instituted as a major platform addressing global crises. It has gradually emerged as a major mechanism for long-term global governance. The G20 has played a positive role in coping with global economic and financial turbulences such as the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2008. There had been effective international efforts during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014. The G20 has made the best of its role in political decision-making and communication of strategies. The G20 also convened meetings among ministers for public health, finance and trade as well as governors of central banks. Therefore, prompt and effective measures with regard to public health, monetary and fiscal policies and large-scale economic leverages were introduced to deal with the risks caused by the spread of the virus and potential economic recession.

The G20 virtual summit has seen consensuses on a wide range of topics and introduction of several pragmatic measures. This summit has shown major countries’ responsibilities and concrete actions for building a community with a shared future for humanity at the critical moment when mankind as a whole is at stake. The statement of the summit promised prompt measures on fighting the pandemic, safeguarding the global economy, addressing international trade disruptions, and enhancing global cooperation. The statement also promised to take any further action that may be required and hold another meeting when needed.

Shouldering the Responsibility as a Major Country

As a responsible major country, China has made remarkable contributions to the fruits of the summit.

First, President Xi Jinping attended the summit and delivered a speech titled “Working Together to Defeat the COVID-19 Outbreak.” He made four major proposals including resolution in fighting an all-out global war against the COVID-19 outbreak, a collective response for control and treatment at the international level, supporting international organizations in playing their active roles, and enhancing international macro-economic policy coordination. He shared China’s experience and demonstrated China’s resolve to defeat the pandemic along with the international community. He also showed that China rises into its role as a major country to promote global public health governance and international economic governance, and that China is willing to strengthen cooperation with other countries. Prior to this summit, Xi had made frequent phone calls with many G20 leaders, which also helped the summit become a reality.

Second, China has managed to contain the outbreak while resuming work and production. China’s experience on many aspects has become important reference to other countries. The four consensuses of the statement have included not only China’s experience in this uphill battle against the outbreak, such as “mobilizing the whole nation, setting up collective control and treatment mechanisms, ensuring science-based control and treatment and imposing targeted measures,” but also its effort to accelerate orderly resumption of work and production while the epidemic control measures are still in place. Meanwhile, China also shares its experience with countries and regions including G20 members through video conferences between experts and notifications to the World Health Organization (WHO). China also made special donations to the WHO and offered emergency assistance to several countries that struggle in containing the outbreak. This has turned out to be the most intensive and extensive emergency humanitarian assistance since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. China has provided valuable international public goods for global public health security.

COVID-19 is a common enemy of mankind. At this critical moment when the COVID-19 outbreak happens in many places around the world, the virtual summit was convened. It called for coordination and cooperation when mankind faces major non-traditional security threats. It has taken solid moves to protect lives around the world while providing a solution to steady, balanced, and sustainable growth of the world economy.

The author is an associate professor with the School of Government and director of the Center for Cooperation among BRICS Members at Beijing Normal Univ