On the eve of the first G20 summit to be hosted by a Asian country, The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), The Stanley Foundation (TSF), The Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, the Lowy Institute and The Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) invited leading experts to Shanghai to evaluate the prospects for collaboration and leadership by key Asian nations. The conference sessions focused on the Seoul agenda and the perspective of the summit’s Korean hosts, the perspectives from the large emerging market powers, perspectives from the traditional advanced countries, other Asian countries including Singapore and Vietnam as well as the prospects for collaboration more broadly.
The Shanghai conference benefited from participants from all the Asian G20 countries (except Japan), as well as from Vietnam, Singapore, Canada, and the United States. Participants discussed the challenge for the G20 to its momentum; its potential for managing other transnational problems; and the role of US and China in forging a new multilateral world. A number of key questions remained open after thorough deliberation. Should the G20 mandate expand beyond global financial and economic matters? Should Asian G20 countries consult with each other more—not to create a regional caucus, but to develop through consultation ideas that could be taken to the whole G20?
Image Courtesy of SIIS.