South Africa, the 2025 G20 Presidency, hosted its first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Cape Town from Feb 26 to 27, 2025. Prior to the meeting, the G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting, the G20 Emerging Markets and Developing Economies Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting, and the first BRICS Finance and Central Bank Deputies meeting of this year were also held.

The meetings covered discussions on the 2025 G20 and BRICS finance priorities, including the global economy, international financial architecture, infrastructure, international taxation, finance-health coordination, sustainable finance, improving the international monetary and financial system, environmental and climate finance, and enhancing coordination among emerging markets and developing economies. Liao Min, China’s Vice Minister of Finance, was present and spoke at the meetings.

During his interventions, Liao stated that it is important to uphold the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits to enhance mutual understanding and trust, deepen multilateral cooperation, strengthen connectivity, and promote global prosperity. He further stressed that efforts should also be made to actively advance the reform of multilateral development banks, address debt issues in a comprehensive, systematical, and effective manner, tackle liquidity challenges by following voluntary, country-specific, and market-oriented principles, establish a fair, sustainable, and modern international tax system, and increase the voice and representation of emerging markets and developing economies in global economic governance. Liao highlighted China’s stable and improving economic situation and policy orientation, the country’s robust support to African countries through initiatives announced at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and shared China’s experiences and proposals in areas including infrastructure, health financing, and green sovereign bonds. He emphasized China’s readiness to work with others to help developing countries, including those in Africa, achieve economic growth, increased employment, and sustainable development.

Prior to the meetings, Liao held bilateral discussions with finance officials from South Africa (the G20 Presidency), Brazil (the BRICS Presidency), the United Kingdom, and Germany, to understand their perspectives on the meetings and present China’s positions and proposals. On the sidelines of the meetings, Liao also held bilateral meetings and exchanges with representatives from the finance ministries of G20 members and guest countries, including France, Japan, the European Union, Australia, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Spain, and Singapore, as well as representatives of international organizations including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. These discussions focused on various topics such as bilateral and multilateral financial cooperation. Liao elaborated on the guiding principles of China's Central Economic Work Conference, shared achievements of the country’s recent large-scale counter-cyclical measures and policies, and reaffirmed China’s commitment to high-level opening-up and steadfast support for multilateralism.