The G20 summit in China later this year is expected to initiate a new beginning to global economic recovery following the lengthy international sluggishness, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday.[Special coverage]
Innovative growth will be the key topic on the G20 agenda, and China wants to inject new momentum into the world economy through reform, he said.
"I am confident that this G20 summit will boost people's confidence, build consensus and point a way forward," Wang said at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress. The G20 summit will be held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in September.
"The world is turning its eyes to China," Wang said. "Hangzhou will be a new launchpad for the G20, and China will be a new launchpad for the world economy."
He said the summit will seek answers on how to emerge from a bleak economic situation, how to find new sources of growth and how to effectively coordinate policies.
China will stress the importance of reform, especially structural reform, and encourage major economies to build a new consensus and work together to put the world economy back on the path to a strong recovery, he added.
Wang called on G20 members to show leadership in developing plans to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to catalyze inclusive and interconnected development globally.
Minister takes question from netizen
Foreign Minister Wang Yi held his longest news conference on Tuesday, taking 19 questions in two hours.
But the last one was not from the media but from a Chinese netizen.
The question was: "President Xi Jinping made eight overseas visits last year, and, Mr Foreign Minister, you spent almost as much time up in the air as you did on the ground. We are curious about what Chinese diplomats are busy with. Is it relevant to the lives of ordinary people?"
The minister used two examples to answer the question. In one, he said a freight train line linking Yiwu in Zhejiang province and Teheran, the Iranian capital, opened just four days after Xi visited Iran in January, cutting transportation time by half for more than 70,000 merchants in Yiwu.
In the other example, he said the Foreign Ministry set up a forum last week to enable foreign ambassadors and overseas businessmen in China to learn about the business potential in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region. The ministry will hold such forums every two or three months.
"Chinese diplomacy will get even busier in the future," Wang said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Wang supported the Information Department's idea to select questions from netizens.
Wang's views
Diplomacy: "China's diplomatic efforts serve to help realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation and of building a community of shared destiny for all mankind through the strategic choice of peaceful development."
Protecting overseas interests: "We want to pioneer the Chinese way of protecting overseas interests－one that is in tune with the trend of the times and welcomed by other parties."
China-US ties: "I think when the US truly cools down, it is entirely possible for us to do more to consider conducting maritime cooperation."
China-Japan ties: "Of course, we want to see China-Japan relations truly improve, but as a saying goes, to cure diseases, you have to address underlying problems."
The Belt and Road Initiative: "The initiative is China's idea, but the opportunities it has created belong to the world."
