The G8, comprised of the leading industrialized nations like US, Japan and Germany has been a major platform to discuss the world's most important issues and lay the track for their future development. But in today's rapid changing geo-political landscape, the G8 is facing a relative decline with the rise of emerging economies demanding a bigger say in shaping the world order. Today the G20, a broader gathering that incorporates both the developing and developed world, has become a more effective platform to set the future course of the world.

The G8, though sees its clout shrinking, still has realistic significance to its existing members especially in the presence of the BRICS, the club for the emerging markets. That some members of the G8 blackballing two main developing countries, China and India, has kept the G8 exclusive to the developed world. As Andrew F. Cooper, Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo in Canada observed, the G8 and the BRICS have become two clubs for the developed and developing world respectively. They discuss issues within their own group and come up with a unified stance before going to the G20 for further discussion.

So as the G8 summit gets underway in Paris, what will be the main talking points in this year's summit? And how can we bolster global governance with the G8 and other multilateral mechanisms?

Ni hao, you're listening to People in the Know, bringing you insights into the headline news in China and around the world, I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing. Today, we will take look at the G8 summit in Paris.

We are joined by Andrew F. Cooper is a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, and Dr. Thomas Fues, head of the Training Department of the German Development Institute.

You can listen to the entire interview by following the link below.