To become a global leader, China must first be ready to do some heavy lifting

In 1972, the Chinese city of Hangzhou (杭州) was picked to host visiting US president Richard Nixon – a decision made by an impoverished country to present a beautiful face to the American delegation, amid the frenzy of a Mao Zedong (毛澤東) cult. In a guest house by the scenic West Lake, premier Zhou Enlai ( 周恩來 ) and Nixon inked a communiqué that turned out to be one of the most important documents in history, one that shifted the global power balance.

Almost half a century later, President Xi Jinping (習近平), a strongman leader who resembles Mao in many ways, will host the planet’s most powerful men and women in the same city of scenic landscapes and elegant lifestyles. This time, China will be keen to showcase not only what its state capitalism has achieved but also what it can do to continue its success and shape global growth for the future.

Multimedia interactive special: historic G20 meeting in Hangzhou

This is why China has been sparing no effort to create a flawless stage in Hangzhou – for China and Xi himself to tell the world that the country is now ready to jostle for leadership on global economic governance. Beijing has shown that it is not shy about expanding its regional influence through “One Belt, One Road”, to compete in international finance by creating the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and to push for the renminbi to become one of the International Monetary Fund’s reserve currencies.

Chen Fengying, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, a government-backed think tank, said the G20 summit would be a chance for China “to guide and to lead” the global economic agenda. “It’s an underestimation to say China just want to ‘participate’ – China has been participating in all the past summits, it wants to be a leader.”

China’s quest for “institutional leadership” in the world comes at a time when globalisation is facing a backlash in rich economies – the emergence of Donald Trump as a serious US presidential candidate, British people’s vote to leave the European Union, and the rise of the far right in continental Europe are taken as signs of popular resentment against the inequities associated with global growth. The world’s top leaders need to send out a note of confidence.