China News Service, Beijing, March 27th: (Combating New Crown Pneumonia) International Review: Where is the "Special" of the G20 Leaders Special Summit?

China News Agency reporter Liu Xu

On the 26th, Beijing time, leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) responded to the New Crown Pneumonia Special Summit by video. This summit issued a special signal in the special context of the global spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and also under the actual need of cooperating against the epidemic in the world.

Special occasions, special expectations

According to the real-time epidemic data released by Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 9:30 on March 27, Beijing time, the cumulative number of confirmed cases worldwide has exceeded 530,000, and the epidemic has spread to more than 170 countries and regions. Faced with multiple outbreaks, coordination and cooperation at the international level have become increasingly urgent.

At the same time, the spreading epidemic has also triggered a chain effect at the economic level: the meltdown of US stocks, the shrinking of cross-border economic and trade relations, and the increase in the number of unemployed people. The global economy is facing huge challenges. The president of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Georgiyeva, issued a warning a few days ago. Affected by the epidemic, the global economy will fall into negative growth in 2020, and the degree of recession will be at least equal to or even more severe than that of the 2008 financial crisis.

As an international economic cooperation forum composed of the world's largest and fastest-growing economies, the G20's 20 member countries account for 85% of the world's GDP, accounting for two-thirds of the world's population, and are the answer to global crisis and economic cooperation. An important platform that played an important role in responding to the 2008 international financial crisis. It has not been absent on important issues other than the economy: The G20 Leadership Summit involved global issues such as the Iranian nuclear crisis, the Syria cease-fire agreement, and climate change. When the Ebola virus raged in West Africa in 2014, the G20 The meeting also discussed this.

At a critical moment when countries around the world need to work together to fight the epidemic and stabilize the global economy, the international community generally expects the G20 to play its due role. On the eve of the meeting, UN Secretary-General Guterres and WHO Director-General Tan Desai have expressed their hope that the G20 leaders can work together to coordinate efforts in medical resources and economic cooperation to help fight the new crown epidemic globally.

Special form, special member

The "special" nature of the summit also manifested in the way it was held. The reporter combed and found that the expression of the "Special Summit" was relatively rare in G20 related reports, and the Leadership Summit had never been held in the form of video before.

Data show that in the early days of its establishment, the G20 operated as a meeting mechanism of finance ministers and central bank governors. After the international financial crisis in 2008, the G20 was promoted to a summit of leaders. Reuters said that the regular G20 summit usually takes several months to prepare, and countries will send diplomats to contact first to discuss how to narrow differences and ensure that all parties can reach a consensus during the summit. However, it was special because of the epidemic that the summit was held at a long distance, which also increased the difficulty for all parties to reach consensus.

In addition to the member countries, some non-G20 countries, such as Spain, Jordan, Switzerland, Singapore, etc., who were plagued by the epidemic, also attended the meeting. In addition, representatives of regional organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the African Union, the Gulf Arab States Cooperation Council, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, and leaders of international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund also attended the summit. . More participants than in previous meetings is enough to see the special nature of this summit.

The New York Times commented that this special summit was more like a high-level conference call. Compared with the long meetings that lasted a few days in the past, the conference lasted only a standard football match, but in At this special moment, this special "gathering" was given special meaning.

Special meaning, special signal

With the joint efforts of all parties, the summit issued the "G20 Leaders' Special Summit Statement on New Coronary Pneumonia," emphasizing that the epidemic has no borders, and G20 members should work together to respond to the threat of the epidemic. All parties are committed to taking all measures to fight the epidemic, protect lives, and revitalize the economy. They will start an economic plan worth a total of US $ 5 trillion in order to deal with the negative impact of the epidemic on global society, the economy and finance, and pass it on to the international community Positive signals of cooperation between countries to respond to the epidemic and strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination.

Reuters analysis pointed out that the leaders at this summit showed the most united state since the establishment of the G20, "more united than in 2008 and 2009 when responding to the financial crisis." Sources said that leaders at the summit pledged to take all necessary public health measures and strive to provide sufficient funds to curb the pandemic. Countries will also cooperate in information exchange, sharing of research and development materials, and providing medical support to jointly fight against The pandemic.

The news also pointed out that the summit statement promised to guarantee the cross-border circulation of important medical supplies and other commodities and to solve the problem of supply chain disruption. The source commented that "this statement contains the most harmonious language on trade in the G20 system for many years."

Agence France-Presse quoted think tank scholar Markus Engels as saying that "coordination between the G20 sends a strong message of solidarity and confidence, and these two are urgently needed now." "If the leaders of the G20 can abandon political prejudices and reach a collective agreement, then countries will have a higher chance of success compared to fighting alone."

Facing the new crown epidemic that is raging around the world, countries must work together to overcome the epidemic, stabilize the economy, and restore order. As King Salman of Saudi Arabia stated in his opening speech, "This human crisis requires a global response. The whole world depends on us to work together to meet this challenge." (Finish)