"When all nations do their part - emerging no less than advanced, surplus no less than deficit - we all benefit from higher growth."
President Obama participated in the first G20 Summit, held in 2008, as the President-elect of the U.S. and therefore stood by in order to honor then-President George Bush's opinions, but after he took office in 2009, he has emphasized the importance of the role and function of the G20 Summits which has emerged as a symbolic council to overcome the global financial crisis.
President Obama's expectations on Seoul's G20 Summit are higher than ever before. This is due to pending issues that were unresolved at Toronto's G20 Summit which was held last June, and are among facets of this year's G20 Summit agenda.
President Obama's perspective is best shown in his 'Letter to Fellow G20 Leaders' which was announced by the White House on the 10th of this month upon his arrival to Korea.
In relation to the Korean government's 'Development Agenda' which begins with knowledge of economic growth for developing countries, Obama remarked "I thank President Lee for his leadership in promoting such an ambitious agenda, we have important work to accomplish in Seoul."
President Obama stressed that "As the G20 Summit in Seoul draws near, the world will be observing us as we work together through problems such as global economic recovery, continuous reformation of the financial system, and stabilizing the global market," pressuring participating leaders to draw tangible results.
President Obama mentioned that "When all nations do their part - emerging no less than advanced, surplus no less than deficit - we all benefit from higher growth," and continued stating, "As the US has changed, so should other developed economies which depend on exports to offset their weaknesses" which are extended lines of the words he spoke at the press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia after a summit with President Yudhoyono.
"You are seeing some countries run up very big surpluses and intervening significantly in the currency markets to maintain their advantage when it comes to their currency" President Obama commented, pointing out the currency imbalance of export dependent countries such as China.
President Obama finds job creation necessary in order to overcome economic crisis, and in order to achieve this, launched a campaign called 'Export Vega'. However, China showed no effort in revaluating the Yuan and he feels that this has intensified the trade imbalance.
President Obama also mentioned at a summit with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India "Global economics cannot be sustained while some countries are stacking trade surplus or deficits. Protectionism is harmful to both countries."
He also said, "This event shows the status of Korea on the international stage" referring to Korea's hosting of the G20 summit.
Being the first non-G7 Asian country to host a G20 summit symbolically shows how much Korea's stature has changed.
Jeffery Vaider senior aide of the National Security Council (NSC) Asia Division spoke for President Obama by saying, "Korea hosting the G20 Summit will be the turning point of President Lee's 'Global Korea' campaign."
