G20 eyes anti-crisis plan, mulls recovery risks

The United States tried to instill confidence on Thursday that the global recovery was not at risk as global finance chiefs gathered to advance a plan to prevent future economic crises. Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 rich and emerging countries, and the smaller Group of Seven developed nations, later on Thursday will weigh the impact of high oil prices, huge government debts and Japan's disasters.
-- G7 will discuss Japan's economic outlook, Mideast unrest
-- G20 to focus on economic imbalances, including debt
-- US says confidence growing despite setbacks
-- France says no Greek debt restructuring in works
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, speaking at a conference on the global economy, said the recovery from the 2007-2009 financial crisis was intact and that investment and hiring were starting to pick up. "Despite the risks in oil, the financial challenges still facing parts of Europe, despite what's happened in Japan ... what you see is gradual healing, gradual strengthening in confidence that the world economy is going to be growing at a reasonable rate," he insisted.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told reporters no talks were under way about restructuring Greece's debt. Athens is struggling to cut spending enough to meet commitments made in return for a 110 billion euro ($160 billion) bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
"There is a plan, there is delivery, there are (financial) instalments. There is no discussion of debt restructuring as far as Greece is concerned. None whatsoever," Lagarde said. The G7 countries - the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan - will meet behind closed doors in the evening to assess the economic damage from Japan's earthquake and uprisings in the Arab world.
The IMF, which holds its twice-yearly meetings this weekend, warned officials not to grow complacent about the recovery's prospects simply because the worst of the financial crisis has passed. The larger G20 club of advanced and developing economies holds a working dinner after the G7 meets to push forward on a plan for building a global economy less prone to the booms and busts that have marked the last two decades. The G20 is aiming to secure a deal on standards it can use to assess whether individual economies harbour imbalances, such as overly large trade deficits or surpluses, that could threaten the global economy. China has expressed suspicion that the effort may be aimed at pressuring it to bring down its hefty trade surpluses.
China's foreign exchange reserves - a stockpile that reflects Beijing's exporting prowess - soared to a record of more than $3 trillion by the end of March, a sum certain to raise eyebrows in Washington. The G20 has become the premier forum for figuring out how to make sure there is no recurrence of the financial crisis that triggered the worst global recession since World War Two.
G20 leaders agreed in 2009 to shrink imbalances between export-rich countries such as China and debt-burdened consumer economies like the United States. Many economists blame such imbalances for sowing the seeds for the crisis. But as the world economy recovers, the G20 has found it increasingly difficult to forge consensus on exactly how to lay the groundwork for more stable growth. The G20 is expected to complete work on a set of "guidelines" to spot potential trouble spots, although naming the countries running afoul of the rules would come later.