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There is "overwhelming consensus" to focus on global economic growth at the upcoming Group of 20 summit in Mexico, heeding European leaders' calls to confront the ongoing debt crisis in the eurozone, a top aide to US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday.
Michael Froman, deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, said leaders in the G20 bloc of the world's biggest industrialized and developing nations regard the June 18 to 19 summit as a deadline for Europe to devise a plan for finally quelling problems in the single-currency area.
Heads of European governments, spooked by fresh signs that a global slowdown may be coming, have urged G20 leaders to concentrate on spurring growth and creating jobs when they meet at the Mexican resort of Los Cabos in two weeks.
"There's an overwhelming consensus that the focus is on growth, the need for growth (and) the risks to growth around the world," Froman said in a panel discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, to preview the G20 summit.
"The eurozone crisis is the most significant threat to growth, but we see slowing growth in the developing economies," said Froman, who is Obama's lead negotiator at G20 events.
Froman spoke just hours after finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the G7 industrialized economies used an emergency conference call to urge Europe to take more aggressive action against the eurozone crisis, specifically with regard to Spain and
Greece. The ongoing debt problems threaten a deep recession on the continent that would be felt worldwide.
Specifically, officials from the G7 - the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan - agreed to coordinate the response to the European crisis by helping the Spanish and Greek governments get their public finances to a more sustainable level, beyond current austerity steps. "It serves as a useful, action-forcing event," the US official said.
In addition to concerns over Europe, emerging markets such as Brazil, China, India and South Africa have seen growth declining recently.
Questions:
1. Where will G20 summit be held?
2. What date will it be held on?
3. What countries form the G7
Answers:
1. Mexico.
2. June 18 and 19.
3. US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.