Einar Tangen: G20 of little use; new ideas needed for crisis

China Information News
Einar Tangen: G20 of little use; new ideas needed for crisis
19 November 2008

On November 16 the G20 conference ended in Washington after adopting a declaration and a plan of action to tackle the ongoing financial turmoil.

The public hold a range of different views on the result. In an exclusive interview with China.org.cn, Einar Tangen, Chairman of I-MCF and former President of State of Wisconsin International Trade Council, expressed that the opinion that the G20 conference was of little use.

According to Tangen, the only result from the G20 conference is the declaration, which reflects a set of vague expectations about future actions. If the conference was to be truly useful and effective in tackling the current financial crisis, the participating countries should have discussed specific cooperation to resolve global problems on the basis of mutual agreement.

No such specifics were seen, and it is clear that G20 leaders are waiting for Obama to take over the Presidency in the expectation that he will act to address the financial crisis.

Since US President George W. Bush will be leaving the White House, there is little he can do in terms of putting forward new ideas to address the problem. Additionally, pressure is being exerted from Europe, where Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France and current President of the European Union, issued a new plan on financial reform, but one that does not get to the crux of this global financial tsunami.

Einar Tangen thinks that it is would certainly be wise to put together a better system to avoid such financial crises. But the current situation is worse than anyone had predicted.

What we must do at present is to concentrate on solving existing problems caused by this financial hurricane, and then put forward new ideas and methods on a global basis to tackle the crisis - we cannot continue to use outdated tools and methods to resolve today's issues.

In answer to a question from China.org.cn on what kind of role China can play in tackling the crisis, Tangen said that China has built strong foundations to help maintain the stability international financial markets over the past six years.

However, he emphasized that China must now proceed cautiously in taking more international responsibility. Although western countries have called for China to play a more active role in some international organizations, like G20, there is still a risk that the developed nations might establish some new form of international cooperation that excludes other countries, including China.

(China.org.cn by Ma Yujia November 19, 2008)