China's Hu going to US but Obama meeting unclear

BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao is going to Washington to push Western leaders to give poorer countries a bigger role in global financial institutions, but whether he will meet Barack Obama is still unclear.

Hu is due to attend a Nov. 15 summit of the Group of 20 major economies on the financial crisis. American officials say President George W. Bush's government is in consultation with Obama's team but the president-elect has not said whether he will take part.

"Whether the leaders meet will depend on whether both are in Washington," a deputy Chinese foreign minister, He Yafei, told reporters Thursday. "Meetings are still being arranged."

China wants to see governments at the meeting take steps toward giving poorer countries a bigger role in global financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, He said.

Beijing still is deciding what specific measures to propose, he said.

China will "play a constructive role," he said, but added, "We are still studying in which way we will participate in the summit."

The summit will bring together leaders from the U.S., France, Britain, Germany and Japan and emerging economic powers such as Brazil, India, Russia and China.

American officials say they hope the meeting produces agreement on short-term steps to start dealing with the crisis. They say those could include increased transparency in financial markets or better accounting rules and risk management for financial institutions.

Ahead of the Washington meeting, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors are to gather this weekend in Brazil.

Beijing wants to make sure developing countries are not ignored, He said.

"We think it is important to take immediate steps to stabilize the market," He said. However, he added, "we need to carry out reforms of international financial institutions. We need to increase representation of developing countries."

He said such reforms would be a long-term effort but Beijing wants to see it start.

"We shouldn't ignore development issues while we are busy bailing out the market," he said.

China has largely escaped the impact of the crisis that has battered global financial markets.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on China, which has $1.9 trillion in reserves, and oil-rich Persian Gulf states to contribute to a major increase to an IMF bailout fund.

Asked whether China might pledge money for a bailout fund and what conditions it might demand in return, He said, "The summit will not be to discuss whether China will spend money on a bailout."

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