Summit is crucial for role of G20

Editor's note: Chinese leadership during G20 presidency can help rescue group from irrelevance, international governance expert says. Barry Carin is a senior fellow of the Center for International Governance Innovation, based in Waterloo, Canada. He held several senior Canadian government positions and also taught at universities. He has been a participant and close observer of the G7, G8 and G20, including working on China's G20 presidency and the preparation process for this summit. He spoke with China Daily on Aug 11.

What is the special significance of the G20 in Hangzhou under the current global economic situation?

Hangzhou is perhaps the best hope for rescuing the G20 as a respected and effective global steering committee. The G20 risks evolving into irrelevance. Its record for the last five years has been discouraging. Leadership will not come from an inward-looking and politically stalemated United States or from a European Union consumed by Brexit, the euro crisis and the flood of migrants and refugees. But there is no alternative to the G20 for effective global crisis management or a steering committee. The only hope is that China, exploiting its ingenuity, can provide the necessary leadership.