Ministers and central bank
chiefs from the Group of 20 will assess the world's economic health and
discuss ways to achieve sustainable and balanced growth, according to
host South Korea.
Its finance ministry said they will also
consider regulatory reforms to avert a replay of the 2008-2009 slump,
discuss the fiscal soundness of each nation and stress global
cooperation in the timing of exit strategies.
The meeting Friday
and Saturday in the southern city of Busan will prepare for a G-20
summit in Toronto on June 26-27 of the top developed and developing
nations.
The talks are overshadowed by the European debt crisis,
which has roiled world stock and financial markets and sent the euro
plunging.
The G-20 is the premier global economic forum, with
members accounting for 90 percent of the world's gross national product
and 80 percent of world trade.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who oversees the world's third biggest economy, gave a stark warning Monday of dangers ahead.
“Some people argue that the global economy has already recovered and
that we can now take stimulus exit measures but I think that judgment
is too early,” Wen told business leaders in Tokyo.
“China will make sure it maintains a sense of crisis.”
Naoto Kan, finance minister of number two economy Japan, said the
currency turmoil sparked by Europe's debt crisis could be a key topic
in Busan because it affects exporters to the continent.
Some of
Europe's trading partners fear weaker growth there will mean less
demand for their products. A sickly euro also makes those products more
expensive for customers.
If the world economic outlook becomes
gloomier, that in turn could make China more reluctant to heed U.S.
calls to let the yuan rise.
Seoul's finance ministry said in a
statement that policymakers would consider options proposed by the
International Monetary Fund to achieve strong, lasting and balanced
growth.
Also on the agenda will be ways to recoup taxpayer-funded bailouts and secure funds to brace for future turbulence.
A bank levy is supported by European powers and the United States, but
resisted by some developing nations plus Canada and Australia — who
argue that they didn't create the fiscal mess and shouldn't have to
pick up the tab to clear it up.
“Canada is, and will remain,
opposed to a tax that would penalize financial institutions that
remained strong and prosperous while many of the world's banks failed,”
Industry Minister Tony Clement said last month.
Talks on the
bank levy are continuing, South Korea's finance minister Yoon
Jeung-Hyun told reporters Tuesday. “I expect the talks to be concluded
at the November summit in Seoul,” he said.
Many believe there
should be some regulations to control international capital flows and
chances of this issue being discussed at Busan are high, Yoon added.
Reforms to international credit rating agencies, which were widely
criticised for getting too close to their customers and missing danger
signs, are also on the Busan agenda.
Changes to the IMF to give developing countries a bigger say will likely be discussed.
Korea is also pushing the idea of a global financial safety net so that
developing countries do not feel the need to pile up huge foreign
exchange reserves.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said
last week the United States and Europe broadly agree on the need for
tighter lending rules for banks.
Source :- chinapost.com.tw