【英语国际】G20峰会美国影响力减弱

President Barack Obama limped toward the close of the Group of 20 summit, weakened by an anemic economic recovery and an election drubbing that has left world leaders questioning U.S. authority.

In private meetings with Mr. Obama Thursday, Chinese President Hu Jintao resisted his pressure on currency revaluation. Mr. Obama also failed to secure a free-trade agreement with South Korea by his imposed Thursday deadline, a blow to a U.S. president who has pledged to double U.S. exports over the next five years.

The G-20 summit is expected to conclude with a communiqué that papers over differences on fiscal and monetary policy that had burst into the open in the run-up to the gathering.

Undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury Lael Brainerd said currency policy dominated a meeting between Messers. Obama and Hu after the U.S. president raised it. Mr. Hu told his U.S. counterpart that China will push forward on revamping the yuan exchange-rate mechanism─a longtime goal of U.S. policy─but that such a move requires 'a sound external environment' and can proceed only gradually, according to state television and a government spokesman.

He also told Mr. Obama that China is paying attention to the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to pump $600 billion into the U.S. economy, which critics charge is driving down the value of the dollar. Mr. Hu urged the U.S. to consider the interests of emerging markets, according to Chinese state TV.

'The major reserve-currency issuers, while implementing their monetary policies, should not only take into account their national circumstances but should also bear in mind the possible impacts on the global economy,' Zheng Xiaosong, director general of the Ministry of Finance's International Department, reiterated at a press briefing.

That China was emboldened to lecture the U.S. on its currency, a notable reversal of recent meetings, underscores how it and other countries, including Brazil and Germany, have emerged from the global economic crisis faster and more strongly than the U.S. Mr. Obama found himself in the odd position of having to defend the U.S.'s independent central bank. He was also unable to quell concerns that the U.S. government is deliberately trying to weaken the dollar to boost exports.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Thursday he would press Mr. Obama to explain the Fed's move. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak demurred when asked about it. 'I think that kind of question should be asked to me when President Obama is not standing right next to me,' Mr. Lee answered.

The U.S. says the policy is designed only to boost U.S. domestic growth, which is critical to the global economy. It also argues that the dollar's value is correlated to confidence in the U.S. and global recovery.

The meeting of world leaders in Korea kicked off in earnest Thursday evening with a large dinner and closed-door meetings focused in part on disputes over currency valuations and trade imbalances. The leaders are expected to reach several agreements before they adjourn Friday, namely on financial regulation and the role of the International Monetary Fund. But the issues that divide them have led officials to quash expectations of a breakthrough on the top issues of currencies and trade.

'When you see the final communiqué, it will reflect a broad-based consensus about the direction that we need to go,' Mr. Obama said. 'There may be at any given moment disagreements between countries in terms of particular strategies.'

The communiqué won't include a numerical target for trade surpluses or deficits, which the Obama administration had pushed. Nor is it likely to explicitly pressure China to accelerate increasing the value of the yuan, to make Chinese exports more expensive and to empower Chinese consumers.

Mr. Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to downplay the sniping from officials that dominated the run-up to the summit. Both resolved to pick up the phone before going public with their frustrations.

'They both agreed that it's not ideal in the run-up of a meeting like the G-20 to be reading attacks on specific economic or financial policies in newspapers from Germany or the U.S.,' a German official said. 'There was an agreement that in the future, perhaps, there could be better consultation.'

美国经济复苏乏力，民主党中期选举失利，这些都让美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)在20国集团(G20)峰会上举步维艰，也让世界各国领导人质疑美国在世界上的威信。

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images美国总统奥巴马周四在韩国首尔的国家博物馆举行的晚宴上做手势。中国国家主席胡锦涛周四与奥巴马举行了非公开会谈，期间胡锦涛抵住了奥巴马要求人民币重估的压力。另外，奥巴马未能在预先设定的最后期限即周四之前与韩国达成自由贸易协定，这对奥巴马来说是个不小的打击，因为他已承诺未来五年让美国出口增加一倍。

预计20国集团峰会结束时会发表公报，掩盖各国在财政和货币政策上的分歧，这些分歧早在峰会召开之前就暴露无疑。

美国副财长Lael Brainerd说，奥巴马提出汇率政策问题后，这就成了中美两国元首会晤的主要话题。据中国官方电视台和一位政府发言人表示，胡锦涛对奥巴马说，中国会推进人民币汇率形成机制改革，这也是美国政策的长期目标，但这项改革需要良好的外部环境，只能是渐进式推进。

胡锦涛还对奥巴马说，中国注意到美国联邦储备委员会(Federal Reserve)决定向美国经济注资6,000亿美元，批评人士指责此举使美元贬值。中国官方电视台报道称，胡锦涛敦促美国考虑到新兴市场的利益。

中国财政部国际司司长郑晓松在媒体吹风会上重申，主要储备货币发行国在制定货币政策时，不应只考虑本国的经济利益，也要考虑对世界经济的影响。

中国敢于在汇率问题上公开向美国说教，一反最近一系列会议的常态，可谓引人瞩目。此举凸显出中国与巴西、德国等其它国家相比美国，以更快的速度、更有力的复苏态势从世界经济危机的阴影中走了出来，而奥巴马却还不得不站在一个尴尬的立场上为其不受政府控制的中央银行进行辩护。另外，奥巴马也无力消除别国对美国政府为刺激出口而试图故意让美元贬值这种做法的担忧。

巴西总统卢拉（Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva）周四说，他将敦促奥巴马解释美联储的行动。韩国总统李明博（Lee Myung-bak）面对这个问题显得迟疑不决。他说，我想这种问题不应该在奥巴马总统就站在我身边的时候来问我。

美国表示，定量宽松政策仅旨在提振美国经济增长，这对全球经济至关重要。美国还坚称，美元汇率与人们对美国和全球经济复苏的信心息息相关。

Associated Press美国总统奥巴马与中国国家主席胡锦涛在G20峰会上会面。G20全球首脑会议周四晚间在诚挚的气氛中在韩国开幕，首先举行了盛大的宴会，接着是闭门会议，该会议部分侧重关于货币估值和贸易失衡等问题的讨论。在周五休会前，这些领袖料将就金融监管和国际货币基金组织（IMF）的角色等达成数项协议。但各国领导人对一些事宜有分歧，已使官员们打消了汇率和贸易等重要议题可能获得突破的预期。

奥巴马说，当你看到最终公报时，它将反映就我们需要努力的方向所达成的广泛共识。无论什么时候，在特定策略方面国家之间可能都存在分歧。

最终公报将不会包括奥巴马政府推动的贸易顺差或逆差的数字目标。也不太可能明确向中国施压要求加快人民币升值速度。如果人民币升值，将使中国出口商品更加昂贵，并刺激中国消费者支出。

奥巴马和德国总理默克尔（Angela Merkel）同意淡化处理双方官员在峰会前夕的龃龉。双方都采用了电话沟通的方式，而没有将摩擦公诸于众。

一位德国官员说，他俩一致认为，在像G20这样的会议召开前，从德国或美国的报纸上看到对特定经济或金融政策的攻击，不太合适。他们已达成一项协议，未来可能将更好地进行磋商。