Six months after the London summit, the Group of 20 (G20) leaders will meet again in Pittsburgh of the United States to discuss strategies for tackling the financial crisis and promoting development.
As effective and important platforms for the international community to cooperate in fighting the crisis, the London G20 summit and its predecessor, the Washington G20 summit, were among those most-closely watched international gatherings.
Now many eyes are on G20 leaders to see if they can make new progress in Pittsburgh toward strengthening coordination on macroeconomic policies, reforming international financial institutions, promoting common development and working against protectionism.

EFFORTS BY BOTH DEVELOPING, DEVELOPED NATIONS

Since the G20 summit held in London in early April, the international community has agreed to cooperate in tackling the crisis and adopted wide-ranging economic stimulus packages, which have effectively contained the crisis and paved the way for a potential global economic recovery.
In nearly half a year, both emerging and developed economies have taken a variety of measures to alleviate the economic downturn.
Emerging economies, such as the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), have implemented different types of fiscal stimulus policies, aiming to promote investment, expand domestic demand and enhance economic and trade relations with the rest of the world.
Thanks to such measures as tax reduction, interest rate cuts and increasing loans, the BRIC countries have displayed a significant vigor, and they are now being viewed as the most likely forces that can lead the global economy out of recession.
Besides injecting liquidity into the financial system, some developed countries have introduced a series of special policies to revive their key industries.
For instance, in order to help the battered automobile industry, over ten western countries have adopted industry support measures, such as the "cash-for-clunkers" program, to stimulate demands and create jobs.
In addition, EU leaders reached an agreement in June on many measures to curb the crisis, including providing member countries with funds to create jobs in the following two years and helping small enterprises gain loans.

STRENGTHENED FINANCIAL REGULATIONS

The ongoing financial crisis has exposed the financial system's flaws, and most countries have agreed to strengthen financial regulations. Some have adopted measures to prevent irresponsible behaviors like excessive speculations.
U.S. President Barrack Obama proposed in June a policy package to reform financial regulations, the biggest move seen by the market to overhaul the U.S. financial system since the Great Depression.
Many believed that the Wall Street, which had long avoided strict regulations, would be subject to harsher scrutiny.
EU nations in June also introduced a financial regulation reform plan to provide a unified EU-wide supervision over the financial industry.

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS' CONTRIBUTIONS

In the past six months, international financial institutions have helped some countries in need deal with the economic and social fallout amid the financial crisis and gradually implement agreements reached by G20 leaders at the April summit in London.
International financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development have extended credit to Eastern and Central European countries whose financial systems were badly hit by the crisis.
The move has effectively alleviated the fiscal pressure faced by those countries and curbed the spread of the crisis.
In Asia, the Asian Development Bank set up a three-billion-dollar "Countercyclical Support Facility" program to help its members that have fiscal difficulty. Some developing countries in the region have benefited a lot from the program.

FIGHT AGAINST PROTECTIONISM

Fighting protectionism was an important consensus reached at the G20 London summit. As a developing country, China has sent several delegations of government officials and businessmen to other countries to expand economic and trade cooperation.
China also has maintained low tariffs and fulfilled the promise not to resort to protectionism with concrete measures.
Unfortunately, some countries, including some developed countries, under increasing domestic protectionist pressure, have set up new trade and investment barriers, posing a serious challenge to the fragile global economic recovery and undermining international cooperation in fighting the financial crisis.