China will take over the presidency of the Group of 20 (G20)
from Germany next year, said Finance Minster Jin
Renqing. He was speaking at the end of a two-day meeting of
finance ministers and central bank governors G20 member
nations.
Jin said that next year G20 members will discuss the rational
allocation of production factors such as capital, labor and
technology; improving the current international economic system;
and the principles of achieving balanced and orderly economic
development.
Jin said that reform of the Bretton Woods agreement, which had
been on the agenda for this year's German presidency of the G20,
would be carried over into the Chinese presidency.
The Bretton Woods agreement, signed in July 1944, established
rules for commercial and financial relations among major industrial
nations. It resulted in the establishment of the International
Monetary Fund and the forerunner of the World Bank.
German Finance Minister Hans Eichel told a press conference that
the group members expect the global macroeconomic environment to
remain favorable in the coming year. However, he also warned that
downside risks to growth have increased worldwide owing to volatile
oil prices, persistent imbalances and geopolitical concerns.
The G20, founded in Berlin in 1999, comprises all the major
industrialized nations and the main emerging economies such as
China, Brazil and India.
(China.org.cn November 22, 2004)