The Summit of Seven

By+Wang+Jun

In order to address the worlds pressing economic challenges， Chinese Premier

Li Keqiang hosted a “1+6 Roundtable” in Beijing on July 22 with the heads of six major international financial organizations.

The participants were World Bank Group（WB） President Jim Yong Kim， International Monetary Fund （IMF） Managing Director Christine Lagarde， World Trade Organization（WTO） Director General Roberto Azevedo， International Labor Organization （ILO） Director General Guy Ryder， Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development（OECD） Secretary General Angel Gurria and Financial Stability Board （FSB） Chairman Mark Carney.

This is the first time that a Chinese premier has met with the heads of six major international financial organizations. It is also the first time that Li has welcomed WTO， ILO and FSB leaders as premier.

According to Zhang Jun， Dean of the School of Economics of Fudan University， it used to be unimaginable that Chinese leaders would be able to meet with the leaders of various international organizations simultaneously. This roundtable seems to indicate that Chinas economic policies have the potential to influence the world economy more than the U.S. election or the UKs exit from the EU. Zhang told ThePaper.cn， a Chinese news website， that it is Chinas economic clout that makes the roundtable significant.

The roundtable discussions covered economic growth， structural reform， trade， finance， sustainable development and employment.

Multi-party efforts

The roundtable meeting did not come as a surprise， as efforts have been made to collaborate economically across multiple borders and organizations for some time.

In his meeting with WB President Kim in February， Li said that China has maintained stable growth and made progress regarding structural reforms despite sluggish global economic growth. He also said the Chinese Government is experienced in addressing various risks and has sufficient policies and tools. China is willing to improve information-sharing and strengthen coordination and collaboration with the international community via the G20 and other platforms.

During his meeting with Li， Kim said that the WB will strengthen their communication of policies with China and is willing to deliver more rational and objective opinions about the Chinese economy to the international society.

The IMFs Managing Director Lagarde said， during her meeting with Li in January， that the IMF is willing to further strengthen communication and cooperation with China.

Wang Yuesheng， Dean of the Department of International Economy and Trade at Peking Universitys School of Economics， told ThePaper.cn that this roundtable should represent the will of all parties involved. According to him， these six organizations are the most important international economic institutions and China is one of the most important powerhouses for global economic growth. The world economy is now facing multiple challenges， therefore China must strengthen policy coordination with these organizations in order to move forward.

“The world is eager to know about Chinas economic policies， and international organizations hope to know the current state of the Chinese economy through this meeting，” said Zhang. “Such expectations and demand bring success to this roundtable.”

Possible regular meetings

“China， a major global economy， has a growing impact on world economic policies， and also has its own opinions and suggestions. These international organizations have certain influence on the economic policies of other countries，” said Wang， expecting more of such meetings.

This expectation was echoed by Zhang， who also believed the dialogue may become a regular way for China to communicate with the global market， creating a new channel for coordination.

High-profile meetings between a countrys leader and international financial chiefs are not uncommon. In October 2012， French President Francois Hollande met in Paris with the heads of five international organizations， including OECD Secretary General Gurria， IMF Managing Director Lagarde， WB President Kim， ILO Director General Ryder and WTO Director General Pascal Lamy. At the meeting， the leaders shared their views on the global economic outlook as well as the European and French economies.

Zhang said that the Chinese Government is not yet experienced in terms of its communication mechanisms with global investment and financial markets， so China hopes to communicate more often with those entities through meetings between Chinese leaders and international financial chiefs.