CRI听力:Experts expect measures to reduce protectionism at G20 summit

The workshop held on Monday is meant to lay the groundwork for the investment and trade policies Chinese officials would like to see discussed at the Hangzhou summit.

Zhang Yuyan, director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the ultimate goal is free trade, which he admits requires a lot of work.

"First we need to reach a consensus and decision-makers need to make rules, especially among the big powers. Then, it comes down to the implementation of the rules. I think the implementation of the rules is really important. However, reaching an agreement is also important, as the agreement and rules are the basis for the implementation."

Workshop participants have also evaluated some of the priorities laid-out during the recent G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting in Shanghai.

One of those is a plan to establish a system of indicators which could monitor global trade trends, including protectionism.

Trade ministers at the G20 session in Shanghai did agree to establish systems to help developing countries and small businesses move up the global value chain.

They've also agreed to extend an earlier pledge to avoid trade protectionism through the end of 2018.

While this promise is non-binding and obviously open to wide levels of interpretation, Jeffery Schott with the Peterson Institute for International Studies says getting the G20's Trade Ministers on the same page is - in itself - an important step.

"The G20 summit is very important this year because there is so much uncertainty in the world economy. With downturn in the growth in trade, with the problems in Europe and potential departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union and it is important for the G20 countries to assume a leadership position and show a way towards the future growth in trade and the economic performance of the 20 countries."

Schott does say avoiding trade protectionism will require G20 countries to bring in actual rules, rather than just promises.

"It needs even more than that attention to implementation, an implementation plan on how you prevent new protectionist measures. But unfortunately, the G20 is a very diverse group and the countries have different priorities, and they also have different definitions of what is a protectionist measure."

Global trade growth the past 4-years has been lower than the world's GDP.

International investment rates are below those seen before the global economic crisis began in 2008.

As such, China, as the chair of this year's G20, has a broad-based goal of hoping to lead the G20 countries out of the economic downturn.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.