G20 Bali Summit: What the World Says

The main message from Bali is that the G20 is an effective forum for global cooperation to deal with the world’s geopolitical and economic issues. Some are even calling the G20 the “new global governance”.

A year ago in November 2021, I wrote an article for this column titled “Jokowi On the Big Stage”, about President Joko Widodo’s emergence on the international scene at the start of his second term.

A year later in November 2022, President Jokowi’s international role culminated with the Group of 20 Bali Summit, which will be the benchmark for subsequent G20 summits.

History will record Indonesia’s achievements at the G20 Bali in a series of international roles that have had a long impact, starting from the inaugural Asian-African Conference in 1955 in Bandung, West Java.

Also read:

> Jokowi on the Big Stage

To get a sense of how large the legacy of the G20 Bali Summit might be in the future, I think it’s good to listen to the voices covered in the international media, which I believe can represent the views of most people in the world.

I took three leading media from three world regions that could represent the global view: The Economist from the United Kingdom, Foreign Policy from the United States, and Nikkei Asia from Japan.

Global economic giant

Seeing the success of the G20 Bali Summit, The Economist magazine’s 19-25 Nov. 2022 edition had a cover featured a wayangpuppet and the title, “Asia’s Overlooked Giant”.

The point made in the cover article was that the G20 Summit in Bali had placed Indonesia in an important position on the world map, with the premise that Indonesia will grow in the coming decades to become one of the world’s economic giants.

It followed with the question: “Can Indonesia actualize its potential?”

Several factors should be underlined as a driver towards that direction.

It followed with the question: “Can Indonesia actualize its potential?”

First, Indonesia has abundant natural resources and has the potential for a large green economy. For example, Indonesia produces half of the world’s nickel, the raw material used in batteries that are a source of green energy. Indonesia is also the third largest cobalt producer in the world.

The country’s downstream industry policies and the export ban on minerals and raw materials, although contrary to the free trade principles, have strengthened Indonesia’s industrial base and influenced its position in international competition.

Apart from these natural factors, Indonesia is also making progress in its transformation into a digital economy.

Digital boom

As a Southeast Asian country that has been very successful in building technology start-up incubators, Indonesia is experiencing a digital boom. In effect, this will greatly reduce logistics costs that have been a heavy burden for archipelagic countries and a cause of a high-cost economy.

The second factor driving the Indonesian economy is sound economic management. The Economist mentioned the role of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati as regards this, but I’d like to add the role of Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, who coordinates the country’s economic policies.

It also underlined President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s successes in infrastructure development: 16 new airports, 18 seaports and 2,100 kilometers of toll roads, 2.5 times the roads built from the New Order until the beginning of President Jokowi’s first term.

Pluralist political system

Apart from its economy, another factor that supports the country’s future prospects is that Indonesia has found a way to combine democracy with economic reform.

Departing from the trauma of the 1990s, Indonesia has formed a pluralist political system, which, although imperfect, has resulted in social compromise and harmony, avoiding the zero sum game from occurring in national politics. President Jokowi succeeded in building a great coalition called the big tent that includes his political rivals.

Another factor is geopolitics. In terms of its location, size and resources, natural or human, Indonesia shares the main stage with the constellation of superpowers. One geopolitical factor is its tradition of free and active foreign policy and its neutrality in global conflicts, especially the tensions between China and the United States as well as other Western countries.

Its firm yet flexible principles allow Indonesia to benefit from economic cooperation, including investments from both sides.

New ‘Cold War’

What is interesting about Foreign Policy magazine is its scenarios in the lead-up to the G20 Bali Summit, where the groups formed during the frenetic globalization era would meet under the shadow of a new Cold War. China and Russia stood against the US and its allies, with Ukraine at the vortex of the conflict.

There was concern among the G20 developing countries that the interests of the rest of the world would be neglected by a new Cold War. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s absence at the G20 Bali Summit was seen as a key part of that scenario. Not much could be expected from a situation like this.

But it turned out that what transpired at the G20 Bali Summit did not reflect that scenario, and it succeeded far beyond expectations.

Putin’s absence was actually positive for the G20 because Russia was still represented, albeit only by its foreign minister and finance minister.

Heads of state from countries that have remained close to Russia, such as China and India, did not need to avoid being publicly seen, showing their close relationship with the Russian leader.

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Although China, India and Brazil have not taken any sides in the US and Europe’s criticism against Putin and have maintained an impartial, undisguised stance, they also view the war in Ukraine as a threat to the world economy as a whole and oppose the use of nuclear weapons as part of the conflict’s narrative.

Against the various geopolitical dynamics explained above, developing countries, or those commonly called emerging markets, which have occupied a junior position in the G20 so far, showed their “fangs” and independence in Bali.

In contrast to European countries, which are increasingly united with the US across the bloc, developing countries’ autonomy and influence are actually growing as a result of the war in Ukraine with its various implications, and this was demonstrated at the G20 Summit in Bali.

The most astonishing outcome from the G20 Bali Summit was the easing of tensions between the US and China, which has the potential to escalate into a world crisis, especially in the Asia-Pacific.

Red line

Nikkei Asia paid special attention to the face-to-face meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The meeting, which lasted three hours, eased the tensions that had been gripping the two superpowers until the start of the G20 Bali Summit.

Both sides were able to express and understand each other’s positions and convey the so-called red line on the Taiwan issue, the main source of the tensions between the two countries.

President Biden was quoted as stating that the world expected the US and China to work together to address global issues, and stressed the need for communication between the two heads of state.

Also read:

> Russia-Ukraine: Security Dilemma

President Xi said that a great upheaval was taking place in the world, which was at a crossroads. Because of this, Xi stressed that the two leaders must chart the right direction for China-US relations to deal with global issues, including climate change and food security.

Nikkei Asia paid special attention to the meeting between the two heads of state because Japan would be at the forefront if a conflict occurred.

All major observers and media agreed that the G20 Bali Summit is a step towards peace and international cooperation in solving major world problems. They were highly impressed that the atmosphere of the Bali summit and President Jokowi’s leadership had a major influence on the event’s success. We Indonesians must be grateful and proud.

‘New global governance’

In closing, the G20 Bali Summit succeeded in producing the Leaders’ Declaration, which covers various aspects, such as economics, geopolitics and the environment.

Some of the important points of the G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration are the call to stop the war in Ukraine, respect the principles of the United Nations, and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries, while noting that there are different views.

The G20 leaders also agreed to establish a Pandemic Fund and a mechanism for accelerating the green energy transition.

The declaration also agreed on digital transformation to prepare for a digital economy, provide debt financing and support to poor countries, address the energy crisis and global food security resulting from the war in Ukraine by maintaining supply chains, and develop a science-based approach to agriculture.

For the record, Indonesia received funding worth US$20 billion (Rp 311 trillion) on the sidelines of the G20 Bali to help achieve net zero emissions by 2050, by developing new and renewable energy and supporting the energy transition by gradually retiring coal-fired power plants.

The main message from Bali is that the G20 is an effective forum for global cooperation to deal with the world’s geopolitical and economic issues. In fact, following the success of the G20 Bali Summit, some are even calling the G20 the “new global governance”.

KOMPAS/DEONISIA ARLINTA

Ginandjar Kartasasmita

Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Professor of the Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Tokyo, Japan

This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.