The Group of 20（G20）leaders met in London last Thursday to talk about their plan to repair the global economy.
Zachary Karabell, an American economist, however, wrote in an article in The Washington Post that they picked the wrong place to hold the meeting. “G20 heads should not have plotted in the shadow of Big Ben. They should have been sitting near the Forbidden City, in the meeting halls off Tiananmen Square in Beijing,” he wrote. The first G20 meeting, last fall, took place in Washington. “If the second meeting had been held in Beijing it would have been a clear signal that the Washington-Beijing relationship is the most important relationship in the world today.” Karabell argued.
Other experts share Karabell’s opinion. They think the success of the G20 mostly depends on what China and the US decide upon.
“How they are going to work everything out will be very important in terms of how we get out of the current decline,” Jonathan Fenby, a British historian and authority on China told China Daily.
Former US national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski has also said that the world should focus less on the G20 and more on a “G2” of China and the United States.
For decades, the US has governed the world, but in a few short years China has emerged as the world’s second largest economy, said The Washington Post.
In 2008, before the storm hit, China and the United States were responsible for more than half of all global economic growth. This year, China will probably still grow 8 percent while the US suffers a depression.
In many aspects, China and the US have become a single economic system. China has holdings of about $700 billion in US government debt. The US needs the money to survive the financial crisis. Meanwhile, China needs the US as much as the US needs China. Trade with the United States remains one of the bright spots of China’s economy, as US companies fuel much of China’s domestic（国内的）economy. From its leading consumer brands---including Oil of Olay and the hugely popular KFC---to high-end（高端的）industry, China’s development relies on foreign businesses.
Right now, it seems that both countries recognize their unique positions and are doing the right things.
Theme | China and the US are expected to 71 the world’s economy. |
Different opinions about the 72 to the crisis. | ● Beijing is the 73 place to hold the 2nd G20 meeting. ● The world should pay more 74 to G2 rather than to G20. ● Whether the current world can get out of the global financial depression __75 on the decision of the USA and China. |
Background facts | ● China has become the world 76 largest economy in recent years. ● In 2008,the economic growth of the two countries made 77 over 50% of the whole world’s. ● The US and China have become a particular economy system. ● The US needs China as its supporter to get 78 of the financial storm, while Beijing needs the American high-end technology and the markets. |
Conclusion | ● Both the US and China have recognized the unique 79 they are playing in the world’s economy. And therefore they are making efforts to strengthen further 80 . |
