Brazil's new President Michel Temer won over a large number of Chinese fans on social media during the weekend with his down-to-earth, surprise stop at a shopping mall in Hangzhou where he bought a pair of leather shoes.[Special Coverage]
Temer's visit comes at a time when the footwear industry in Brazil, a major shoe-producing country with world-famous brands such as Melissa, is encountering difficulties amid intense overseas competition. The country's current economic hardship is further facilitating the fear toward free trade in the South American country.
In this regard, some observers cannot help worrying that Temer may feel some pressure from Brazilian society if he is too positive toward made-in-China products as well as promoting free trade during the G20 summit in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province. Sadly, this scenario is not limited to Brazil, with more people across the globe feeling that they are the victims of globalization.
Leaders of the world's 20 major economies are at the annual summit and focused on fleshing out a prescription for the ailing global economy. China has contributed a lot in mapping out measures to lift the global economy out of hardship and to champion globalization, but it is unlikely to be an easy process to implement the steps.
Industrial competition among the five BRICS nations, which share similar industrial structures and strive to pursue rapid economic growth that could intensify this competition, may explain why these measures will be challenging to implement. How to realize synergetic development among the BRICS nations has long been a question troubling these countries, with concerns expressed about the sustainability of economic cooperation between the BRICS members.
Earlier this year, India launched an anti-dumping investigation into color-coated steel sheets imported from China. It is normal to see increased trade friction between the countries as India is looking to significantly expand its domestic steel sector and the mentality of economic nationalism has been rising among local workers in India looking to protect their jobs amid the current global economic uncertainty.
Thus, there is reason to worry about the implementation of the agreement reached by world leaders at the Hangzhou summit and that pushing globalization may draw resistance in some countries, India included, perhaps due to their economic nationalism.
Leaders of the world's major economies need to compose a realistic implementation for the agreements reached at the summit and avoid empty talk. This will require the world leaders to, on the one hand, relieve concerns expressed by local workers at home while, on the other hand, having courage to put a stop to the vested interests of certain groups, such as steel associations. This will certainly be an uphill battle, but meeting the commitments they promise at the summit does not seem too much to ask.
By Hu Weijia
The author is a reporter with the Global Times.
