Think tank seeks G20 secretariat

A government think tank in China is calling for the establishment of a permanent secretariat for the Group of Twenty in order to implement proposals agreed upon at summits and give emerging countries a greater voice.

Wei Jianguo, secretary-general of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a government think tank, said a weakness in the G20 forum is that there is no secretariat. Without one, he said, the summit is simply an open platform for leaders to express opinions. Voices from developing countries often are ignored, he added.

At the G20 summits, the country that holds the presidency for the term of chairmanship appoints a temporary secretariat. Russia selected a secretariat for the summit in St. Petersburg this week.