Backgrounder: G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting

The Group of 20 (G20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting is to convene in China from Oct. 15 to 16. Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a keynote speech.

The G20 was founded in 1999 in Berlin as an informal arena to facilitate dialogue between major industrial and emerging market countries.

The G20 members include China, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union, as well as the specially invited International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

These countries account for 90 percent of the world's total gross domestic product, 80 percent of global trade and two thirds of the world's population.

It is the first time for China to host a G20 meeting. The theme of the meeting is "enhancing global cooperation and promoting global economic development with balance and order".

Source: Xinhua