G20 must put actions to its words if it is to deliver on its consensus

A comparison of the outcome documents from the G20 summit in Hamburg that concluded on Saturday and those produced at the Washington gathering, the first such meeting between the leaders of the 20 major economies held two months after the fall of financial giant Lehman Brothers in 2008, leads to both encouraging and worrisome observations.

After intensive diplomatic efforts from the team of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, possibly the only leader who has participated in all 12 summits, the topics put on the agenda have gone far beyond risk management, financial market regulation, financial liquidity guarantees and the urgency of reviving economic growth, which were heavily debated at the first summit.

At that time, the major task of the international community was to avoid a dysfunctional global market by engaging with emerging economies such as China to ensure the global financial system remained workable.