The days of the traditional G8 Summit are numbered. No longer can these eight powers convene effectively without the strong participation of the major economies of the global South. Pressured by a massive shift in global economic power, and matched by growing fatigue in the G8, a proliferation of different formats have stretched legitimacy across the process. The stage is now set for the next "G" episode, to be played out this week at the G8 L'Aquila Summit in Italy.

This report is a summary of discussions from a CIGI-sponsored workshop on April 25-27, 2008, at which international experts examined the style and methods of China's new global engagements in light of its recent great economic gains. A number of thematic issues related to China's foreign policy, economic issues and socialization into the international organization architecture were discussed. In particular, workshop participants explored trade regulation, foreign and redirected investment, climate change policy, intellectual property rights and monetary issues. The report synthesizes the central points of discussion and outlines five possible scenarios of global governance with China as a major player.