© The Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China 

G20 finance ministers and central bank deputies met in Sanya, China, in mid-December. China, which assumed the G20 presidency in early December, used the meeting to roll out its agenda for 2016 and discuss it with finance ministers and central bank deputies. Bundesbank Executive Board member Andreas Dombret attended as the Bundesbank’s deputy.

G20 as the most important forum

The Chinese delegation emphasised the G20’s role as the most important forum for global economic policy cooperation. China plans to continue to pursue the current main themes and replace some of them with new ones. The programme, broadly regarded among those in attendance as balanced but also ambitious, met with widespread approval.

Pessimism concerning the current global economic situation was the prevalent sentiment among attendees. Reasons included the modest outlook for growth, divergence of some key central banks regarding monetary policy and heightened credit risk in emerging market economies and the attendant vulnerability. However, the strengthening of multilateral development banks and improved cooperation in funding of areas such as infrastructure projects and investment were regarded as being capable of unleashing positive short and medium-term growth effects.

Finalising Basel III

There was a consensus among G20 finance ministers and central bank deputies on the need to finalise Basel III and to tackle other outstanding regulatory projects. New strands of the G20’s work, such as improving the macroprudential framework for financial market infrastructures, were also discussed, along with the funding of eco-friendly investment projects and the potential risks to financial stability posed by climate change.