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China’s President Xi Calls for the Creation of a New Financial Order
16 November 2014
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with leaders of the BRICS nations prior to giving a speech to the G20. At the BRICS meeting, Xi said that the cooperation, which the BRICS countries have manifested should not ignore the deteriorating political conditions in the world as there can be no successful economic development without peace and political stability. The BRICS countries have the need to pursue economic restructuring and innovative development, he said. "The cooperation between the BRICS countries should be driven by the two ’wheels’ of economy and politics so that the BRICS can act as not only the world’s economic engine, but also a shield for world peace,’’ Xi said. We also share the desire to safeguard international justice and equity and uphold the common interests of emerging markets and developing countries, Xi said. As long as the BRICS countries continue to build political mutual trust and strategic consensus making our voice heard and proposing more solutions, we will contribute more positive energy to world economic growth, better global economic governance, and world peace and development. He also said that the BRICS countries should play a more important role in the multilateral economic institutions. While China has played a major role in keeping the world economy on track, the promise to give them a greater say in the world economy had not been met. He pointed to the positive developments at the recent APEC meeting and said that they must move forward in opening up trade and in establishing the New Development Bank. He also encouraged the BRICS countries to work together with China in carrying out a reform of the International Monetary Fund and to coordinate their policies so that this meeting of the G20 will end up a success. Not long after this, President Xi gave his speech at the G20 meeting. There he urged the world’s major economies to jointly promote reforms, implement comprehensive growth strategies and advance the transition of the world economy from cyclical recovery to sustainable growth. Noting that the world economy has gradually moved out of the bottom in the past years but the overall recovery remained lacklustre, he said the top priority for G20 members now is to coordinate macroeconomic policy, mitigate economic risks, create more jobs and improve people’s livelihood. He added that the just-concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Beijing formulated plans for promoting the development of the Asia-Pacific region, and that G20 members have also worked out comprehensive growth strategies. In order to realize comprehensive growth, he said, G20 members should seek and boost driving forces for sustained growth and open up a new situation that features innovative development, integrated interests and interconnected growth. Firstly, G20 economies should innovate in their economic development patterns, adding that more vitality should be brought into the economy through structural reforms in finance, investment, trade and other fields. Stressing the important role of infrastructure construction in generating economic growth, he said China supports the G20 in setting up a global infrastructure center and supports the World Bank in establishing a global infrastructure fund. Xi supported the call for a Global Infrastructure Fund within the IMF (begun as a U.S. attempt to undercut China’s launch of the AIIB) and said that China would make its contributions through such initiatives as the Silk Road Economic Belt, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund. Secondly, Xi said, G20 members should build an open global economy and called for concerted efforts in resisting trade and investment protectionism and safeguarding multilateral trade systems. Thirdly, G20 members should improve global economic governance, Referring to the Bretton Woods system which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, he called for major change: "We want to make this a turning point, making the system just and impartial, providing an orderly financial system, increasing the representation and the right to speak by the developing sector countries, and ensuring that each country in the international scheme of cooperation has the same rights, the same opportunities, and the same rules.’’ Xi had earlier described this as a system in which, "each nation would shine much brighter when in the company of others.’’ He also asserted that each country has a right to development, as well as an obligation to allow others that right as well. In conclusion, President Xi again announced that the BRICS had committed to the building of a New Development Bank and that over 20 countries in Asia had agreed to established an Infrastructure Investment Bank, which he felt would make a valuable contribution to this endeavour. What the Chinese President is putting forward is indeed a New Paradigm in relations between nations, and this, more than any of the individual items, will freak out the international financial oligarchy. And his "arrow’’ is not going back in its quiver any time soon, as he intends to launch immediately after his visit to Australia, New Zealand, and the Fiji Islands, a visit to Ibero-America, visiting Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba. |