Interconnected world the only way to make progress

If there's one word that may come to define the common approach to tackling the global political and economic challenges of the early 21st century, it's "interconnected".

Not only is it the key description of the Belt and Road Initiative, which involves 64 percent of the world population, but it also is the theme of the 2016 and 2017 summits of the Group of 20 states, which collectively account for 80 percent of the global economy.

China and Germany, the previous and current summit hosts, are strong defenders of globalization.