G-20 leaders declare summit a success

PITTSBURGH — Major world leaders formed themselves into a new board of directors for the global economy Friday, vowing to overhaul lax financial regulations and work harder to control dangerous imbalances that contributed to a financial meltdown.

President Barack Obama and the other leaders declared that from now on, their meetings of the Group of 20 nations would be the primary way of coordinating global economic policy. That group will take over the job that had been done for more than 30 years by a smaller group of the wealthiest countries, which late in the last decade became the G-8.

"The old system of international economic cooperation is over. The new system, as of today, has begun," declared British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He said that the G-20, which includes not only developed nations but fast-growing emerging markets such as China, Brazil and India, would become the "premier economic organization for dealing with economic management around the world."

To show their resolve, the G-20 nations held a series of discussions Friday to discuss the thorny problems still confronting the economy and to search for ways to make sure that the financial excesses that led to the worst global downturn since the Great Depression were not repeated.

President Barack Obama, who was leading the discussions, circulated among the leaders before the talks began Friday, speaking to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

While declaring that the global economy appeared to be stabilizing after the severe downturn of the past year, the leaders struck a tone of cautious optimism, saying it was important not to withdraw the massive amounts of stimulus they had provided.

"In the short run, we must continue to implement our stimulus programs to support economic activity until recovery clearly has taken hold," the leaders said in a closing communique, a draft of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

In prepared remarks to the other leaders, Hu told them, "The foundation of an economic rebound is not yet solid, with many uncertainties remaining. A full economic recovery will take a slow and tortuous process."

In an apparent reference to a recent trade spat in which the United States imposed punitive tariffs on Chinese tire imports, Hu called on the leaders to "resolutely oppose and reject protectionism in all forms."

The concluding communique, according to various drafts, addressed issues such as restraining excessive bonuses paid to bankers to stop financial institutions from engaging in the risky practices that contributed to the crisis.