G20 Photo:VCG

 
Li Chenggang, China’s international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce and vice minister of commerce, attended and addressed the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers' Meeting held Friday in Gqeberha, South Africa, according to a statement published by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Saturday.

The meeting focused on themes such as trade and inclusive growth and principles for addressing global challenges, trade and investment frameworks for promoting green industrialization and sustainable development, as well as WTO reform and development dimensions. It issued the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers' Statement and the Chair's Summary, laying the groundwork for the upcoming G20 Leaders' Summit in November.

Li stressed that China firmly supports multilateralism, has proposed the Global Governance Initiative, and has announced that it will not seek new special and differential treatment in current or future WTO negotiations, demonstrating the responsibility of a major developing country through concrete actions. The G20 has made important contributions to the development of global trade and investment, and should give full play to the role of the G20 trade and investment mechanism to address current global challenges through open cooperation.

While pursuing its own development, China is also actively contributing to global economic growth, Li said. He called on all parties to uphold the multilateral trading system and free trade, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, avoid trade restrictions, remove green trade barriers, and leverage their comparative advantages to jointly support developing countries, injecting impetus to green industrialization and sustainable development.

On the sidelines, Li also held separate talks with heads of several delegations and the heads of international organizations, including the WTO director-general.