Backgrounder: Key facts about G20

Source: CCTV.com | 03-14-2009 20:51

And as the critical economic meeting continues in Horsham, here's some background information about the Group of Twenty... The G20 is an informal forum that promotes open and constructive discussions between industrialized and emerging-market countries... on key issues in the global economy.

The G20 was initiated in September 1999 at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Washington DC. The inaugural meeting of the G20 took place in Berlin in December of that year. The group has a membership of 19 countries and a regional bloc.

China is a founding member. The G20 economies account for around 90 percent of global GDP, 80 percent of world trade and some two thirds of the world's population. Finance ministers and central bank governors of the group hold annual meetings, with a rotating presidency.

Editor:Du Xiaodan