BRUSSELS, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- China and Germany, host countries of G20 summits in 2016 and 2017 respectively, will have new cooperation opportunities in global economic governance, experts said Thursday.
Although China and Germany do not see eye to eye with each other on some issues such as innovation and the level of development of the two countries is different, differences between the two countries would not hinder their cooperation, said Dr. Enrico Fels from the Center for Global Studies, University of Bonn.
Fels made the remarks during a speech at a seminar held here themed "G20 in Hangzhou: China, Germany and Global Governance."
With the 2017 G20 summit to be held in the German city of Hamburg, Germany will offer its insights on issues such as new financial risks, digital challenges and trade barriers, Fels said, adding that Germany shares similar views with China on these subjects.
China and Germany have a long history of economic cooperation and both countries have benefited a lot from such cooperation, the expert said.
Huang Weiping, professor from China's Renmin University, said G20 has become an important mechanism for global economic governance.
Before the 2008 global economic crisis, G20 only organized meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors, and the crisis made G20 much more essential in global economic governance, Huang said.
At the 2009 Pittsburgh summit, G20 was recognized as the main forum for international economic cooperation, Huang said.
Today's global economic situation has highlighted the importance of this year's G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, as it marked the first time that the problem of development was placed at the forefront of the global policy framework and also the first time that plans were figured out to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This signifies that G20 has transformed to a long-term mechanism of governance, Huang added.
Professor David Fouquet, vice president of the European Post Graduate School of International Strategy and Development, said that China and Germany are proactively engaged in global governance.
The G20 Hangzhou Summit achieved a lot and this is not only a challenge but also an opportunity for the Hamburg summit, Fouquet said.
Issues such as climate change and economic crisis can not be addressed without the multilateral mechanism, Fouquet said, adding that he hoped the G20 will play a greater role in global governance in the future.
Experts from China and Europe, as well as media and student representatives attended the seminar, which was co-sponsored by Confucius Institute at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels), the European Post Graduate School of International Strategy and Development and the Brussels Academy for China and European Studies.
