Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi (C, front) poses for a group photo with delegates attending the first G20 sherpa meeting during its opening ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 14, 2016. (Photo: Xinhua/Zhang Ling)
China hopes the Group of Twenty (G20) summit this year will guide world economic growth and international cooperation, a senior official said Thursday.
China will host the G20 summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou from Sept. 4 to 5. The country formally took over the G20 presidency on Dec. 1, 2015.
"China expects this year's summit to promote the leading role and the ambition of the G20 in the global economy. We should work to transform the G20 from a crisis-managing mechanism to a long-term governance platform," State Councilor Yang Jiechi said at the opening ceremony of the first G20 sherpa meeting.
The G20 is a major forum for global economic and financial cooperation that brings together the world's major advanced and emerging economies, representing around 85 percent of global GDP, 80 percent of world trade, and two-thirds of world population.
In 2008, the first G20 summit was held in Washington, D.C., and the group played a key role in response to the global financial crisis.
Yang called on the participants at the sherpa meeting to show ambition, determination and insight to make the G20 play a greater role in boosting world economic growth, improving global economic governance and increasing people's welfare.
The theme of the Hangzhou summit is "building an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy." Preparations for the summit will focus on innovation in growth patterns, improving global economic and financial governance, boosting international trade and investment, and promoting inclusive and interconnected development.
Yang also briefed the participants on China's economic prospects, saying the Chinese economy will maintain a generally sustainable and stable growth trend through reform, innovation and more emphasis on quality.
"China will actively participate in international economic cooperation and governance to inject impetus into domestic reform and mid-to-high economic growth," Yang said.
