G-8 summit laggard model to tackle new world challenges

The summit of the Group of Eight (G-8), a bloc formed 26 years ago, apparently is becoming a laggard model to tackle new world challenges.

This year's summit, which is being held in the elegant French seaside resort of Deauvillein from Thursday to Friday, focuses on the volatile situations in the Middle East and North Africa, nuclear security, and the Internet.

The bloc held its first summit in July 1975, attended by leaders from France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States. Canada joined it in 1976 and Russia in 1998.

The G-8 has all along been lukewarm to the interests and voices of developing countries. The lack of wide representation is its born disadvantage, causing many troubles in international political and economic ties.

Over the past 26 years, the world situation has changed drastically, but the elite club of the eight Western powers fails to sufficiently adapt itself to the situation and still sticks to the long-time mode of sitting down together and charting the course for the world's security and other issues.

The summit, without participation of the world's emerging economies and influential regional blocs such as the African Union and the Arab League, is unlikely to produce desirable results.

Britain's Economist magazine said recently that the narrow platform of the G-8 can't cope with global affairs, and the outstanding performance of the G-20 in recent years reflects the gradual eclipse of the G-8.

In contrast to the G-8, the Group of Twenty (G-20) includes both major developed and developing economies, is much more representative.

The platforms like the G-20 should play a bigger role in the world affairs.

Actually, the G-20, replacing the G-8, has become a major arena to discuss international economic collaboration and cooperation.

However, Western powers are reluctant to shy away from the historical platform, especially in political and security affairs.

They adhere to outdated thinking and methods, and continue to be a "mentor" and planner on the international political order.

From a global perspective, the G-8, when dealing with either economic or political challenges, can't represent the whole world and tell the world what should be done, as emerging economies have become an important and inalienable part on the world's economic and political map.

The monodrama of the G-8 summit, no matter how hard it plays, may fail to glisten on the world platform.

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