Washington: Appreciative of the US role in
establishing G-20 which provided a "comfortable" platform to
countries like India and China, Beijing wanted gradual
expansion and institutionalisation of the grouping to include
areas like counter-terrorism, according to classified papers
released by WikiLeaks.
These views were expressed by Chinese Vice Foreign
Minister He Yafei during a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of
State Jim Steinberg on September 29, 2009.
"He thanked President Obama for his leadership in
institutionalising the G-20, which had created a 'comfortable'
platform for countries like China and India to play a larger
role," showed one of the cables from Beijing as leaked by
WikiLeaks.
"He explained that there had been some domestic
criticism of President Hu Jintao's participation in the
G8-plus-5. He expressed hope that the United States would
coordinate closely with China as we established new rules for
the organisation, and that it would not become an organisation
that duplicated the United Nations or the G-8," the cable said.
The Chinese minister expressed reservations about how
fast the G-20 could expand to handle issues beyond economics
and finance, but noted that if the organisation was going to
stay relevant for leaders its scope would have to grow.
"He specifically mentioned the need for a coordinating
mechanism on global diseases and counter-terrorism," the cable
said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 30, 2010, 13:06