G20 summit reveals China's commitment to world economy

BEIJING - China will see the issuance of the first bonds denominated in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) on Wednesday in the country's interbank bond market.

Worth 500 million SDR units, the bonds issued by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a unit of the World Bank, will be first SDR bonds issued for more than 30 years. They will provide a channel for foreign investors to increase yuan exposure and allow domestic investors to access foreign currencies within the domestic bond market.

Compared to bonds denominated in a single currency, SDR bonds face smaller exchange and interest rate risks. With the approach of renminbi entry to the SDR basket in October, China has already started to update its foreign exchange reserves, international balance of payments and international investment positions in SDR.

SDR bonds will not only inject energy to the international monetary system, but are a way to open up the domestic market.

Li Huiyong, chief macro-economics analyst with Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, said that measures related to the SDR will increase the appeal of the Chinese market to foreign capital, attesting to China's G20 commitment to an "innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy".

"The more contribution China makes to the world economy, the greater its responsibility," said Li.

Cultivating new growth engines

The global community expects China to take the lead in drawing the blueprint of world economic recovery at the upcoming G20 summit. The blueprint, with innovation as its focus, will help the world economy to emerge from recession, said Zhang Haibing.

With the aim of robust, balanced and sustainable growth, China wants G20 members to agree to avoid competitive devaluation of currencies.

The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors have also agreed to "use all policy tools - monetary, fiscal and structural -- individually and collectively" to stimulate growth.

A report from the HSBC Global Research expects some medium term agenda to emerge, such as reforms of the global monetary system, green finance and infrastructure investment.

This year's G20 summit has an unprecedented emphasis on structural reform as a way to re-balance fiscal and monetary measures.

Huang Wei of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences believes China wants the G20 to agree on structural reform. G20 financial officials have already prioritized areas and come up with guiding principles for structural reform.

"Countries can choose from the priorities according to their own needs," Huang added.

Highlighting developing countries

Since G20 was founded in 1999, it has been centered on economic crisis management, with developed economies to the fore. China, the world's largest developing country, is attaching unprecedented importance to development issues.

"Interconnected" and "Inclusive" reflect the appeal of developing countries. Infrastructure, food safety and climate change are major concerns of developing countries, and are align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said, as one of the key priorities to be discussed, "inclusive and interconnected development" entails sustainable development, coordinated growth, win-win results and shared prosperity.

It is the first time for such development issues to take a prominent position within the global macropolicy framework and the first time an action plan has been created to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he said.

China has introduced the issue of green financing to G20. A report on green financing will be passed during the summit, specifying its definition, purpose, scope, and challenges.

The Hangzhou summit will strengthen cooperation in the world economy on the basis of inclusive and interconnected development, which will benefit all countries in the world and promote the construction of a community of common destiny in the common interest of humanity.