"Without the participation of major emerging economies, there is no way to talk about solving major global economic issues like the financial crisis," he added.

He noted that G20, with a broader representation of emerging economies, has the potential for playing a more constructive role than G7 in dealing with the financial crisis.

The Mexican La Jornada daily said in a recent article that the developments of the world geoeconomic order have made it clear the rising of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and Middle East oil exporting countries was inevitable and the decline of G7 is fated.

Brazilian Minister of Finance Guido Mantega said recently that G7 was no longer the leading platform for dealing with major world economic issues and the role of G20 should be strengthened.

G20 was set up in 1999 to better coordinate economic policies among major world economies after the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998.

It groups not only such advanced economies as G7 members, EU and Australia, but also major emerging economies like China, Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Indonesia.

G20 has largely been an informal platform for talks about world economic issues in the early years after its birth. The organization has no permanent secretariat and its meetings were at the ministerial level.

Its prominence has grown as the world urgently needs a broader platform to stave off the financial crisis after the US subprime mortgage crisis escalated into a full blown global financial turmoil in September 2008.

G20 held its first summit on November 15, 2008 in the United States. The second G20 summit is planned for April 4 in London.

Wang Hongmiao, another researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Xinhua that the trend for G20 to take over G7 as the leading international forum for discussing major world economic issues has reflected the new order of the global economic powers.

"G7 has played a dominating role in making crucial global economic decisions in the past 30 years or so, but with the rising of the BRIC countries, there has a gradual shift in global economic powers," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2009)