The Summit of the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) industrialized and developing countries is being held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on September 4 and 5. Chinese President Xi Jinping, acting as host of the meeting, welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, EU leaders Tusk and Juncker, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, France’s President Francois Hollande, and other leaders. The G20 brings together representatives of 85% of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of its population, and was created to coordinate the world’s response to the 2008 financial crisis. China has never hosted so many world leaders in one meeting, totaling about 40 heads of nations, governments and international organizations.

China will work together with all parties to make the G20 Hangzhou Summit prescribe remedies for the world economy to achieve robust, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth, President Xi Jinping said. At the Summit, China defended free trade and globalization. No country has benefitted more from economic globalization than China, as its growth over the past three decades has been largely driven by foreign direct investment (FDI) and exports. China is also opposing rising protectionism. The global economy is being threatened by rising protectionism and risks of high leverage are accumulating, Xi warned at the opening of the two-day summit. The global economy is “at a crucial juncture,” he said, plagued by sluggish demand, financial market volatility and feeble trade and investment. “Growth drivers from the previous round of technological progress are gradually fading, while a new round of technological and industrial revolution has yet to gain momentum,” he said. Xi said the global economy “still faces multiple risks and challenges including a lack of growth momentum and consumption, turbulent financial markets, and receding global trade and investment. Group of 20 countries should abide by their commitment to avoid taking new protectionist measures, strengthen investment policy cooperation and take effective action to promote trade growth.”