“As the premier global economic forum, the G20 should continue to demonstrate leadership against the challenges in the economy.The Hangzhou Summit will give fresh impetus to the world’s economic recovery and growth.Preparatory work is going smoothly, and I believe that the Hangzhou Summit will be a success,” The Turkish Ambassador Ali Murat Ersoy said during an interview with thePeople’s Daily.

According to Esroy, although the G20 was created in response to the global financial crisis, it is also a reflection of the need to form a strong, representative group to deal with global governance issues. “G20 is a major global economic governing platform with broad representation, reflecting demands of emerging markets and developing countries as well. Leaders of G20 members should focus on making the G20 more relevant to other parts of the world, such as low-income developing countries.”

Ersoy explained that the regular engagement of the G20 with non-government sectors is immensely important, such as business (B20), civil society (C20), labor (L20), think tanks (T20) and youth (Y20), and he is proud thatthe Women-20 (W20) was added to this list last year.

The Antalya G20 Summit was centered on the 3 “I”s – Inclusiveness, Implementation, and Investment. The Hangzhou Summit added “innovation” with its theme “Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy,”steering the G20mechanismto become a more effective forum for global governance of growth, trade and investment.

Speaking on the theme of Hangzhou Summit, Ersoy said, “The theme is very relevant. An innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy cannot be built without the input of developing countries. Therefore, inclusiveness is immensely important. In fact, inclusiveness was one of the priorities of the Turkish Presidency which was very well received by G20 members and non-members alike last year. We are happy to see that China has chosen to keep inclusiveness as an important priority on the G20 agenda.

However, inclusiveness needs to be supported by invigoration and innovation. Connectivity will be a critical part of the equation, [because] without sufficient infrastructure, [then] inclusiveness, invigoration and innovation cannot be universal.”

Ersoy said, “We support the Chinese Presidency’s proposal to focus on fiscal and monetary policy cooperation and coordination to respond to such risks. We also appreciate the focus on innovation, the new industrial revolution and the digital economy. These are all important topics that the G20 should be working on.

The Chinese Presidency has attached special importance to trade and investment and introduced an ambitious trade and investment agenda as well, and set up a new Working Group on Trade and Investment.China’s efforts concentrate on strengthening international trade growth and the multilateral trade system, which are in line with Turkey’s interests.

Speaking on bilateral relations, Ersoy said that both sides were working closely in many areas and that cooperation is deepening, asleaders of our two countries met twice last year and produced tangible results.As a follow-up to the G20 Antalya Summit, Turkey has a special interest in formulating action plans to implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The ambassador also stressed that, “Bilateral trade between Turkey and China is around $27 billion. For years now, the trade balance has been in favor of China. Strengthening successful export policies and promoting exports from Turkey to China are among our priorities. Another remedy to this unbalanced trade is to increase direct investments from China to Turkey.”

He also mentioned tourism as an important medium to increase contact between people and said that Turkish Airlines is ready to increase its number of flight destinations to China.

Speaking on China’s global influence, Ersoy said, “As China becomes more powerful, it is more and more active in international affairs. The‘Belt and Road’ is also an initiator of ideas that can be a driving power for the global economy and enhance connectivity. China’s initiatives like the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund, along with its role within the BRICS and hosting the New Development Bank, indicate its capabilities as a key player in global economic issues.”

“China is already an important economic global actor. Through strengthening global economic governance architecture, the G20 has the potential to help China expand its role in global economic governance,”Ersoy concluded.