How Gen Z sees the world: G20 to boost world economy in post-pandemic era

The 18th #G20 Summit is being held in New Delhi, the capital of #India, on September 9-10, 2023. In this video, Siddharth M. Joy from India shares his understanding of the G20. He believes the G20 should support the reconstruction of the world economy and promote the fair distribution of resources among countries. He also said China and India have a strong economic partnership, and expects the two countries to play an increasingly important role in the global #economy.

Leaders of the world's 20 big economies ended a summit in the Indian capital on Sunday overcoming deep divisions over the war in Ukraine to produce a consensus document and move forward on issues such as overhauling institutions like the World Bank.

They also formally admitted the African Union to the bloc to make the grouping more representative.

SOFTER LANGUAGE ON THE UKRAINE WAR

G20 nations agreed that states cannot grab territory by force and highlighted the suffering of the people of Ukraine, but avoided direct criticism of Russia for the war. The declaration was seen as an apparent softening from the position that the G20 took last year when it condemned Russia for the war and demanded that it withdraw from Ukraine.

Diplomats said Russia would never have accepted an outright condemnation and that it was still a successful outcome because everyone including Russia committed themselves to not seizing territory by force.

Host India along with Brazil, Indonesia, and South Africa, played a key role in avoiding a fracturing of the G20 over the Ukraine conflict, officials said, reflecting the growing power of the Global South developing nations in the group.

AFRICAN UNION INSIDE THE CLUB

The 55-member African Union was formally made a permanent member of the G20, on par with the European Union, in order to make the grouping more representative. Until now only South Africa was a member of the G20. The entry of the AU would provide greater voice to the Global South within the G20 where the G7 countries have long played a dominant role.

The move also came after the BRICs, another group dominated by China and Russia, was expanded to include Saudi Arabia and Iran among other nations which was seen as an attempt by Beijing to make it a possible alternative to the G20.

U.S., SAUDI, INDIA JOIN HANDS FOR TRANSPORT CORRIDOR

Leaders of the United States, India, and Saudi Arabia among others announced plans to set up rail and port links between the Middle East and South Asia and eventually to Europe which U.S. President Joe Biden said was a "real big deal."

The Biden administration is seeking to counter China's Belt and Road push on global infrastructure by pitching Washington as an alternative partner and investor for developing countries at the G20 grouping.

However, there were no details about financing or a time frame for the project that involved laying down railway lines in the Middle East and then connecting them to India by port.

INCREMENTAL PROGRESS ON CLIMATE CHANGE

The G20 leaders agreed to pursue tripling renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 and accepted the need to phase down unabated coal power, but stopped short of setting major climate goals.

The group did not provide any plan to amend existing policies and targets in order to achieve the target of ramping up renewables. It also said $4 trillion a year would be needed to pay for a green energy transition but did not lay out any pathway to it.

The deliberations of the G20 were being closely watched ahead of the COP28 U.N climate summit in the United Arab Emirates later this year.

MODI BOOSTS STANDING AS INDIA'S BIG MOMENT ARRIVES

For Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leadership of the G20 has been a year-long opportunity to showcase India as an influential diplomatic and economic power and drive investment and trade flows into the world's most populous country.

It has also provided him a platform to boost his standing at home as he seeks a third term in office in elections in the next several months. Modi's image has been on G20 billboards across the capital and in the vast and swanky new conference venue. To his supporters, the successful outcome of the summit showed India's big moment had arrived.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he held his highest-level talks with Chinese leadership in months, adding that Beijing's economic wobbles would not lead it to invade Taiwan.

Biden said he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping's No.2, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, at the annual G20 summit in New Delhi. The talks were the highest-level meeting between the two powers in nearly 10 months since Biden and Xi spoke at last year's G20 in Indonesia.

Li, who took became premier in March, attended the gathering of world leaders in place of Xi. The two leaders were not expected to hold talks at the G20 but unscripted encounters at summits are common.

"My team, my staff still meets with President Xi's people and his cabinet," Biden told reporters. "I met with his No.2 person in India today."

He added: "We talked about stability," and the Southern Hemisphere. "It wasn't confrontational at all."

The White House on Sunday said Biden had met with a Chinese leader at the summit.

The two superpowers have been trying to thaw frosty relations this year after a spat over a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over U.S. territory, while fears of an economic slowdown have gripped Beijing.

Speaking at a press conference in Vietnam, Biden touted the U.S. economy as the "strongest" globally. He told reporters that China's growth was slowing due to a weak global economy as well as Chinese policies but did not specify which policies.

Biden called China's economic situation a "crisis," citing issues in the real estate sector and high youth unemployment.

"One of the major economic tenets of his plan isn't working at all right now," Biden said of Xi, without elaborating. "I'm not happy about that, but it's not working."

Biden added: "He has his hands full right now."

The Democratic president is headed into a 2024 re-election campaign where his own handling of the economy and inflation has become a central concern for voters.

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.1% annualized rate last quarter. Central bankers have sharply raised interest rates to bring inflation back down to target levels.

August trade data showed China's exports and imports both narrowing their declines, joining other indicators showing a possible stabilization in the economic downturn, as policymakers seek to spur demand and fend off deflation.

Li has said China should achieve its 2023 growth target of around 5%, but some analysts think a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending, and tumbling credit growth could mean lower growth.

OPEN DIALOGUE

Biden has tried to keep communications open with China to lower the temperature in international frictions including over Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by China.

"I don't think this is going to cause China to invade Taiwan," Biden said of the country's economic troubles. "As a matter of fact, the opposite probably doesn't have the same capacity that it had before."

He described the United States as a Pacific power with no intention of withdrawing from the region.

Biden also said recent moves by Chinese officials to curb the use of U.S.-designed Apple (AAPL.O) iPhones by state employees amounted to trying to "change some of the rules of the game" on trade.

"I am sincere about getting the relationship right," he said.