Leaders attending the 13th summit of the Group of 20 (G20) pose for a photo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday local time. Photo: Xinhua

 
China will continue to help promote multilateral cooperation and safeguard the international order in a bid to responsibly boost the world economy,  analysts said on Sunday after Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the G20 to "steer the world economy in the right direction."

A declaration was released after the 13th G20 summit wrapped up in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, on Saturday local time, reiterating the group's support for necessary reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to improve its functioning.

"International trade and investment are important engines of growth, productivity, innovation, job creation and development. We recognize the contribution that the multilateral trading system has made to that end," read the declaration.

The declaration also said that signatories to the Paris Agreement reaffirm that the agreement is irreversible and commit to its full implementation, reflecting common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in light of different national circumstances.

This year's summit was held under the shadow of rising trade protectionism and unilateralism, Wang Xiaolong, director-general of the department of international economic affairs at China's Foreign Ministry, told a press conference on Saturday local time in Buenos Aires.

China's participation in the summit has played an important role in the success of the event, Wang said, citing the country's efforts to safeguard multilateralism and promote cooperation on climate change.

President Xi gave a speech on Friday local time, calling for work to steer the world economy in the right direction while highlighting the dangers of unilateralism and protectionism.

In the Friday speech, Xi warned the G20 leaders of accelerated accumulation of risks in the global economy and pledged that China will firmly push forward a new round of reform and opening-up, with increased efforts in intellectual property rights protection and more imports.

Xi's speech shows that China, the world's second largest economy, is actively fulfilling its responsibility to safeguard the international order and promote the world economy challenged by unilateralism and trade protectionism, He Maochun, a professor of the Institute of International Studies of Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

China will help promote the world economy through domestic development and on the other, the country will also share global development opportunities through free trade zones and the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), He noted.

Zhang Jiazhe, an expert on Latin America at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday that "starting to cope with the 2008 financial crisis and replacing the previous G8, the G20 has helped the world economy, especially the US economy, recover in the past 10 years."

Zhang warned that developed countries in the bloc should stop thinking only about their own interests and instead uphold mutual benefits, or the mechanism may have difficulty continuing.

Expanding cooperation

Xi attended an informal meeting on the sidelines of G20 on Friday local time for leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Xinhua reported.

The five countries - internationally known as BRICS - pledged joint efforts to strengthen multilateralism, strive for an international order that is fair, just, equal, democratic and representative,  and implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Xi also attended another informal meeting on the same day with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The three sides agreed to enhance a tripartite cooperation mechanism.

Xi at the meeting called for the three countries to enhance cooperation on G20, BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization and establish a new type of international relation that upholds mutual benefits.

That meeting was of vital importance under the circumstances of unilateralism, said Li Xing, director of the Eurasian Studies Center at Beijing Normal University.

The meeting also offers a space for India and China to clear misunderstandings and avoid conflicts, Li told the Global Times on Sunday.