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Annual meetings involving the heads of state from almost all of the top industrialized nations to discuss major economic and political issues on their agenda have been going on since 1975. These summits are frequently described as political theater, with government leaders as the actors and their respective national financial systems providing the dramatic dialogue. Until recently G8 gatherings paid scant attention to the stage upon which these scenes are acted out, planet Earth.
The impact of global warming means traditional concepts like political economy and geopolitics are giving way to a larger geopolitical economy. Increased awareness by wealthy nations about climate change caused by industrial pollution has spurred the G8 to spearhead efforts to reverse the process.
"Growth and Responsibility in the World Economy" was the title of the G8 summit declaration issued in Heiligendamm on June 7. Determining the obligations and entitlements shared among rich and poor countries in seeking a balance between environmental protection and sustainable economic development will increasingly shape the international agenda as the 21st century goes forward.
The G8 is composed of the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada, seven of the world's eight biggest economies measured by gross domestic product, along with Russia. China, the fourth largest trading nation with a GDP already greater than Britain and soon to surpass Germany, is not a member.
However China -- along with Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa -- is recognized by the group as a "major emerging economy." For three years in a row the group has held "outreach sessions" called the G8+5 in response to the challenges and contributions they make to the world economy.
China's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu was asked if China, given its status as a major player in the global economy, wanted a greater role in G8, including full-fledged membership. She said, "Developed and developing countries are both members of the international community and share important responsibilities in promoting world peace and universal development."
She said China welcomed the group's goal of better relations with developing countries, and that enhanced cooperation served the interests of both sides, as well as peace, stability and global development, from a long-term perspective. While the country "is ready to continue dialogue and cooperation with the G8 based on equality and mutual benefit," the spokeswoman did not say if China was prepared to become a member.
According to figures from the World Bank Development Report 2006, China's GDP topped US$2.2 trillion in 2005. However, with its population of 1.3 billion, the per capita GDP figure is only US$1,740, making it a lower middle income nation ranked 108th overall.
The World Bank defines a developing country as one with a per capita GDP below US$9,200 while the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization calls them places where most people have a lower standard of living with fewer goods and services than high income countries.
Yet many things set China apart from other developing nations. It occupies a special place in the geopolitical economy as the world's only developing nation approaching superpower status. China's economic might continues to grow. As of June 2007 it held more than $1.2 trillion in foreign currency reserves, a figure increasing by more than $20 billion each month. At the end of 2006 it posted a trade surplus of $102 billion with the rest of the world.
In terms of political power, China is the only developing country able to afford double digit growth in military spending for five years in a row, as well as the only developing nation to have a manned space program and provide substantial foreign aid to Africa.
A joint statement released after the G8+5 meeting announced the start of the "Heiligendamm Process," which highlighted the differences between the developed and developing world on the issue of tackling global warming.
The G8+5 session in Germany touched on five specific challenges faced by the two sides: market access for investment, intellectual property right violations, energy security, development in Africa and climate change. The joint statement only mentioned the first four as topics where there would be high-level structured discussions within the G8 framework during the next two years.
At a special briefing to explain China's role at the G8 summit held June 4, Cui Tiankai, a senior official with the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters that the session would not become "a platform for imposing pressure on any country," something he said "should never happen at all."
China and India, the second and fourth largest emitters of carbon dioxide, a major contributor to global warming, played a key role in keeping the environment off the agenda. Beijing and New Delhi take the position that climate change is mainly a historical problem caused by the West and those countries are responsible for the cure.
Both believe that slowing the pace of economic growth to cut greenhouse gasses comes at too high a price. They also argued that adaptations to climate change placed a greater burden on the slim resources developing economies have to mitigate its effects.
