Xue Lan is a professor in and dean of the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Economic Interests

There have been various interpretations of the root cause and the long-term consequences of the global economic crisis in China. Some have blamed it on the American economy over-leveraging its economic power at the cost of the global community, and questioned the fairness and usefulness of the current global financial institutions. Following this line of logic, many media reports positioned the G20 meeting as a platform for the global community to address the defects of global financial institutions. The mainstream media were very positive about the significance of the summit. China's participation in the summit was viewed as an important gesture of a responsible partner in the global community. Media also provided full details of the summit agenda.

Despite the media's enthusiasm, academics and analysts were quite skeptical about what can be achieved from the summit. Some of them felt that the summit is "more about posturing than about real substance" and "nothing tangible of great significance can be expected." Others felt that "the sickness of the global financial system cannot be expected to get rid of its problems overnight." Few predicted any immediate and tangible economic benefits for China in the short term.

Precisely because of the relatively low expectations set prior to the summit, all media were pleasantly surprised by the outcome, particularly the $1.1 trillion stimulus package. The "family photo of G20" appeared on the front page of many major newspapers and websites with many lavishing praise.  However, this positive mood was not entirely shared by Chinese citizens.  A survey by Sina.com, one of the country's most popular websites, showed that when asked about whether the world economy had bottomed out, more than 64 percent of the more than 110,000 respondents said "No," while 21 percent said "Yes," with the rest being unsure.

Political Interests

There have been some intense debates among Chinese Internet users and in some media circles about China's international strategy in responding to the global economic crisis. On the one side is the view that despite the economy's rapid growth and the country's growing financial power, China's international stature has not changed accordingly. It is now time for China to play a more active role in global affairs to address the lack of balance and fairness in the current global economic and financial arrangements. On the other side is the view that China should be careful not to be carried away by the discussion of the G2. One should not forget about the reality of China, which is still a developing country with millions of people living below the poverty line. There remains a demanding agenda ahead in China's economic and social transitions. The best way for China to make a contribution to global affairs is to maintain its economic growth and social stability.

While the Chinese official position has been more inclined towards the latter, it is clear that China is making gradual change in becoming more active in expressing its views and exerting its influence in public forums such as the G20 Summit, albeit with "Chinese characteristics." First of all, weeks before the G20 Summit, Zhou Xiaochuan, the President of People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's Central Bank, published three articles on the PBOC website. One of the key points made in these articles was the need to create a new international currency which should be detached from any sovereign country to maintain global financial stability. Some media viewed such an argument as an indirect challenge to the dominant position of the US dollar, and there was speculation about how such a proposal would be pursued by Chinese leaders at the summit. However, President Hu Jintao was quite gentle in expressing China's position in reforming global financial institutions at the summit, signaling China's willingness to wait for a consensus on the issue.

Second, the summit event was used by Chinese leaders as opportunities to strengthen bilateral relationships. President Hu Jintao held at least eight talks with different leaders of other countries in the 50 hours he was in London, including US President Obama, UK Prime Minister Brown and French President Sarkozy. The meeting with French President Sarkozy right before the summit was a complete surprise and attracted lots of media attention. Clearly, China has become more sophisticated in diplomatic engagement by taking advantage of international forums such as the G20 Summit.

Third, the widely reported story of US president Obama mediating between President Hu Jintao and French President Sakozy over dropping the "tax heaven" tag on Hong Kong seems to indicate that China can be quite firm in protecting its core interests. Overall, Chinese media seemed to be quite happy about the role played by Chinese leaders, relatively low key but centre stage. In the same survey previously mentioned, when asked about whether the G2 (US-China) has become the centre of global affairs, about half said "No," 30 percent said "Yes," with the remainder being unsure.

Global Governance

The success of the London G20 Summit has provided hope for a new global governance system that can effectively address global challenges. It was recognized that the dominance of American power has now given way to a new global constellation of powers where emerging economies, along with European countries, are becoming major forces to contend with. At the same time, it was also clear that neither the emerging economies nor the Europeans wanted to create a completely new global architecture. Current global institutions such as the IMF and World Bank would still be the bedrocks of the governance system if they can adapt themselves to the new global environment. The agenda has been set and the mechanism is working, for the moment. The challenge is how to maintain the momentum and show the world that the G20 summit can become an effective catalyst for a new global order.

Beijing