Heated debate in G20 planning
Source: Agencies |
November 11, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AN all-day G20 planning session grew so intense that officials had to leave the door open to keep the room from overheating, underscoring deep tensions over global economic rebalancing one day before the start of a summit.
Deputies drafting a final statement to be released after the Group of 20 summit concludes tomorrow remained far apart on pivotal issues, including currency exchange rates, G20 spokesman Kim Yoon Kyung said yesterday.
"We had to open the door because the debate was so animated and the room was getting hot," he said.
G20 leaders hoped this week's gathering, the fifth since the financial crisis exploded in 2008, would mark the beginning of a new era of global cooperation. Hosts South Korea printed banners proclaiming, "Shared Growth Beyond Crisis."
But the unity forged in crisis has given way to sometimes-competing national policies that reflect a multi-speed recovery from the recession, prompting critics to question the effectiveness of the G20.
The US Federal Reserve's decision last week to spend another US$600 billion on government bond purchases has drawn reproaches from four continents and intensified debate over how best to bolster the global recovery and avoid another financial crisis.
Critics charge that the Fed ignored global repercussions - namely a weaker dollar and a flood of cheap cash that could find its way into emerging markets - and violated the cooperative spirit the G20 has worked hard to sustain.
The criticism has made it harder for the US to press China to allow its yuan to rise more rapidly.
A Chinese official who has been helping draft the G20 communique said the leaders should not discuss the yuan or any currency specifically.
Kim, the G20 spokesman, said 40 to 50 deputies were crammed into a small room for a 14-hour session on Tuesday, and voices were raised when they discussed a framework for balanced growth.
Officials left empty brackets in several key sections of what will become the final communique, he said, an acknowledgement they had yet to agree on the language. They reconvened yesterday and were set to continue today if necessary.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged greater G20 cooperation at a "critical moment" for the global economy. "I am concerned by the divergence of opinions on these issues," Ban told a news conference in Seoul. "This is a time for unity."
Deputies drafting a final statement to be released after the Group of 20 summit concludes tomorrow remained far apart on pivotal issues, including currency exchange rates, G20 spokesman Kim Yoon Kyung said yesterday.
"We had to open the door because the debate was so animated and the room was getting hot," he said.
G20 leaders hoped this week's gathering, the fifth since the financial crisis exploded in 2008, would mark the beginning of a new era of global cooperation. Hosts South Korea printed banners proclaiming, "Shared Growth Beyond Crisis."
But the unity forged in crisis has given way to sometimes-competing national policies that reflect a multi-speed recovery from the recession, prompting critics to question the effectiveness of the G20.
The US Federal Reserve's decision last week to spend another US$600 billion on government bond purchases has drawn reproaches from four continents and intensified debate over how best to bolster the global recovery and avoid another financial crisis.
Critics charge that the Fed ignored global repercussions - namely a weaker dollar and a flood of cheap cash that could find its way into emerging markets - and violated the cooperative spirit the G20 has worked hard to sustain.
The criticism has made it harder for the US to press China to allow its yuan to rise more rapidly.
A Chinese official who has been helping draft the G20 communique said the leaders should not discuss the yuan or any currency specifically.
Kim, the G20 spokesman, said 40 to 50 deputies were crammed into a small room for a 14-hour session on Tuesday, and voices were raised when they discussed a framework for balanced growth.
Officials left empty brackets in several key sections of what will become the final communique, he said, an acknowledgement they had yet to agree on the language. They reconvened yesterday and were set to continue today if necessary.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged greater G20 cooperation at a "critical moment" for the global economy. "I am concerned by the divergence of opinions on these issues," Ban told a news conference in Seoul. "This is a time for unity."
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