Hangzhou’s role as G20 summit host city shows China’s political confidence
By Zhang Jingwei , September 02, 2016, People's Daily
Photo taken on Aug. 31, 2016 shows a night view of Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province. The G20 Summit will be held in Hangzhou from Sept. 4 to 5.
When it comes to choosing a city to host an international forum in China, first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai always come to mind. For that reason, Hangzhou, a quasi-first-tier city in China, has received wide attention for hosting the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) summit...
As the old Chinese saying goes, in heaven, paradise, on earth, Suzhou and Hangzhou. This illustrates Hangzhou's long and lauded history as a vital part of China. To get a sense of the city's economic vitality, one only needs to consider that the city harbors the headquarters of Alibaba and other private firms like domestic beverage maker Hangzhou Wahaha Group.
China has moved past the phase where it needs Beijing or Shanghai to show a Chinese image. Instead, varied cities in China are beginning to host global events. If we have to attribute the move away from Beijing or Shanghai to political implications, it might be suggested that this is a display of political confidence.
Besides, since beginning with the sixth G20 summit in Cannes, France, the summit has been hosted in other tourist cities like Los Cabos, Mexico in 2012, Brisbane, Australia in 2014 and Antalya, Turkey in 2015. Hangzhou fits perfectly into this trend.
Further, Hangzhou's economic vitality and innovative development should also be viewed as complementary to the G20 summit's theme: "Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy."
Following China's political opening-up and efforts in promoting an innovative economy, more Chinese cities have grown increasingly international, a fact that may have escaped the rest of the world. Now, following the G20 Hangzhou summit, there is a greater possibility that more second-tier and third-tier Chinese cities will host international conferences and global activities.