Chinese official urges G20 to focus on economic governance

The G20 should work closely together on the basis of its leaders' consensus to tackle global economic instability and promote growth, China's assistant foreign minister said in Los Cabos.

Ma Zhaoxu made the call Monday at an informal meeting of G20 foreign ministers held on February 19-20 in Los Cabos, Mexico. Mexico holds the rotating G20 presidency this year.

This is the biggest and most urgent global challenge currently facing the G20, he said.

It would be a great contribution to international efforts in addressing global challenges if the G20 continues to concentrate on boosting economic growth and stability while maintaining a team spirit and striving for win-win situations, the Chinese official said.

To this end, he urged, the G20 should continue to address the sovereign debt crisis of developed economies, implement relevant agreements reached last year at the Cannes summit, push for progress in reforming the international financial and monetary system, combat trade protectionism, attach importance to global development and narrow the North-South development gap.

Ma called on the group members to support multi-lateralism and democratization in international relations and global governance.

As it was decided at the Cannes summit that the G20 should strengthen cooperation with non-members, including the United Nations, China hopes that the G20 can make itself a more representative and better-balanced organization by respecting the opinions and concerns of non-members, he said.

Mexico has invited representatives from non-G20 economies and international organizations to attend this meeting.

On green growth and sustainable development, Ma said that neither of them could be achieved without eradicating poverty and safeguarding development rights and space for developing countries.

International cooperation on sustainable development should rally around the leadership of the United Nations, reflect the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities," and accommodate the concerns of developing countries.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Ma discussed the G20 and bilateral issues with Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister Maria de Lourdes Aranda and British State Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeremy Browne.