REPRESENTATION IN THE G20 MEETING Essay Example

REPRESENTATION IN THE G20 MEETING

REPRESENTATION IN THE G20 MEETING

Introduction

Building resilience on global financial challenges remains an agenda of the G20. As the body managing global economies, it is imperative to manage sustainable development on the national and international level (Fues & Messner, 2016, p. 294). With this objective, Australia actively participates as a member state through policy coordination to see the fulfilment of the visions and mission of G20. As known to all, political differences and power struggles result to financial and economic imbalances. At this point, it is crucial to acknowledge the continuous efforts by G20 in resolving these conflicts and creating an international common good (Fues & Messner, 2016, p. 295). With a working structure integrating member representatives, G20 establishes the Sherpa focusing on the non-financial issues. Of interest is the contribution of Australia as part of the Sherpa in addressing employment, trade and investment matters.

Trade and Investment

The slow struggling global economy raises concerns on an international level. This has caught the attention of the G20 with the member states realising the need to foster better trade and investment policies (Kirton, 2014, p. 1). Here, the importance is the realisation of the shift in trade patterns and market from the developed nations to the developing countries (Kirton, 2014, p. 2). Facilitating the shift is the availability of coalitions of governments establishing easier trade between the producer and the consumer. In particular, these investments in developing nations such as China and India realise over $4 trillion gains as foreign exchange (Kirton, 2014, p. 2).

Tapping into these markets, Australia managed to penetrate the market of China and Japan. In particular, Flanagan (2017, p. 3) mentions the two countries as the leading trading partners of Australia. Currently, Japan holds the position as a second largest trading associate of Australia, purchasing a total of 16% of the Australian exports (Flanagan, 2017, p. 3). Cementing the trade and investment relation in these regions, Australia has proceeded to sign the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement in January 2015. As it is hoped, the agreement will foster greater economic growth in these nations, especially in the trade sector.

Examining the investment, Flanagan (2017, p. 3) has Japan as the fourth largest foreign investor in Australia. As of 2015, Japan held an investment stock totalling to $199.6 billion. Comparatively, Australia has $93.1 billion.1 as investment stock in Japan (Flanagan, 2017, p. 3). The founding of the Special Strategic Partnership comes after the establishment of common regulatory standards as advised in (Allen, Krahnen & Rey, 2017, p. 4). Moreover, the continued trading of Australia to these regions largely depends on the effective regulation of policies. Through the regulation of rules, Australia aims to initiate collective action with its trading partners towards the attainment of sustainable and balanced growth (Australian Government, n.d, para. 3).

The Australian relations with China follow a similar path as that of Japan. Specifically, the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership opened up a room for dialogue along the trade and investment paradigms (Flanagan, 2017, p. 4). Having secured the partnership, Australia manages to export 36% of its products to the Chinese by the year 2013 (Flanagan, 2017, p. 4). Continued cooperation in the two nations saw the signing of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement in 2015, realising the lifting of tariff barriers on Australian products in China (Flanagan, 2017, p. 4). Statistically, the forming of bilateral trade agreements between China and Australia generate up to A $15 billion as investment from China into Australia in 2015 (Flanagan, 2017, p. 4). Interestingly, with continued interstate trade, the amount rose to $35 billion by the close of the year.

Employment

As nations struggle to create employment for their increased populations, G20 considers employment as a critical source of financial stability. In the discussion of Australian Government (n.d, para. 2), the member states collectively account for two-thirds of the population. This undoubtedly covers a huge percentage of the population of the poor interpreting to financial struggles. However, the G20 with Australia as a member agree to lift job opportunities through employing substantial actions. In particular, the agreeing to the ambitious goal of raising the G20 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2% by 2018 reflects Australia’s commitment to the course (Kirton, 2014, p. 4). With a 2% rise in the GDP, millions of job will become available as well the growth of the global economy (Australian Government, n.d, para. 4).

Through active participation of Australia to the mission of G20, there comes the establishment of the Global Infrastructure Hub (GIH) (Australian Government, n.d, para. 4). With the GIH, Australia plans to connect the public and private sectors through information sharing and learning. It is through these measures that it becomes possible for the people of Australia and other member states to gain employment opportunities as well as access investment opportunities. The opening up of the GIH in Sydney is a great step for the Australian government to channel funds towards job creation and sustainable development. At this point, it is important to recognise the 2025 objective of G20 involving a reduction in gender gaps in the workforce by 25% (Australian Government, n.d, para. 5; Kirton, 2014, p. 5). The plan includes the introduction of over 100 million women into the labour sector across all the member states (Australian Government, n.d, para. 5). In light of this mission, Australia strives to regulate genders laws, especially concerning wages and labour to involve more women in the employment sector.

Conclusion

Trade, investment, and employment are global issues whose changes attract the need to employ active resilience strategies. As evident through the steps applied by Australia, managing trade requires progressive regulation of policy to facilitate the entering into an agreement by the trading nations. Furthermore, it is these agreements that allow a continued growth in investment and opening up of employment opportunities. Therefore, to reach sustainable development, especially financial stability, G20 needs to structure achievable targets and encourage the setting of common trade policies. The imperative in setting the policies is the reaching of trade balance among nations to realise a shared good for all.

References

Allen, F, Krahnen, J & Rey, H 2017, ‘Financial resilience revisited: Why consistency in regulation is now paramount-across sectors and regions, and over time (No. 55)’, SAFE Policy Letter.

Australian Government n.d, The G20, viewed 2 JUNE 2017, http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/international-organisations/g20/pages/the-g20.aspx

Flanagan, S 2017, ‘Building resilience in Japan-China ties: a role for Australia’.

Fues, T & Messner, D 2016, ‘The G20: Balancing National Interests with the Global Common Good’, China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies, vol. 2, no. 03, pp. 293- 309.

Kirton, J 2014, ‘A Summit of Significant, Selective Success: Prospects for the Brisbane G20’.