BERLIN, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Some German experts have extended hope that the upcoming Group Twenty (G20) summit can convey a positive signal boosting the globalization amid prevalence of uncertainties.
Speaking ahead of the two-day meeting, the experts referred to the anti-globalization sentiment such as "America-first policy," Brexit, and the recent U.S. withdrawal from Paris climate accord, saying the world needs the G20, as a multilateral diplomatic platform, to send the right message to the international community.
ERA OF GLOBAL INTERDEPENDENCY
The summit on July 7 and 8, themed Shaping an Interconnected World, will cover issues like free and open trade, climate change, migration, sustainable development and global stability, etc.
Dirk Messner, director of the Centre for Advanced Studies on Global Cooperation Research said "our country-first ideologies" pursued by some countries are dangerous since we live in the times of global interdependency.
"We are living in the era of global interdependency, human civilization depends on global commons as the climate system, the oceans, global resources, are stability of international financial markets," Messner said.
He added that the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and Brexit could be "a wake-up call" for the global community, and he hoped G20 summit could help building a strong culture of global cooperation and strengthening a fair and inclusive multilateralism.
"The summit will not be easy; but hopefully it will be a step to build new and broad and stable alliances to shape the era of the global commons towards sustainability and inclusiveness," Messner said.
FOLLOW UP HANGZHOU OUTCOMES
Messner mentioned the achievements of the last G20 summit in China's eastern city of Hangzhou, hoping that the countries could follow up the clear commitment to implement Paris climate accord and the 2030 Agenda.
The compliance on the climate deal, by the largest developing country China and the biggest developed country the United States, was seen as a major outcomes of the Hangzhou summit. However, the U.S. Trump administration rejected the accord earlier this year, distancing itself from most of the countries in the G20 group.
Gu Xuewu, director of the Center for Global studies at Bonn University, projected that Trump might become a target for persuasion at different occasions during the summit, and therefore Hamburg could be a much trickier place for the global leaders when facing Trump.
"There could be multiple overlapping conflicts, and America will be at the center," said Gu.
Besides the issues on the climate change, Gu spoke highly of the proposition of "fair globalization" by G20 Hamburg, saying it's an updated version of the "inclusive globalization" by G20 Hangzhou.
"It means globalization will include more countries, meanwhile will touch every levels of society of every country," Gu said.
"To say it in plain words, everyone could benefit from globalization," Gu said.
