Zhou Xiaochuan (R), governor of the People's Bank of China, and Chinese Vice Finance Minister Li Yong attend the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov. 8, 2008. The two-day meeting was opened on Saturday. [Xinhua]

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 (G20) major industrial and emerging-market countries begin their annual meeting Saturday to seek ways to weather the global financial crisis.

Participants at the two-day meeting are expected to discuss the current global financial situation, said Marcos Galvao, international affairs secretary of the Brazilian Finance Ministry.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (C) attends the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov. 8, 2008. The two-day meeting was opened on Saturday.[Xinhua]

Discussions on the cause of the crisis, the worst since the 1930s, and its impact on commodity prices, inflation and exchange rates are also on the agenda, he said.

China will help stabilize international financial markets by maintaining its economic growth and expanding domestic demand, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, said at the meeting.

The People's Bank of China is closely following the situation in international financial markets to make its policies on further readjustment of interest rate, he said.

Zhou, who is here to attend an annual meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 (G20) major industrial and emerging-market countries.

He said China's central bank will cooperate with the International Monetary Fund to stabilize financial markets.

Zhou predicted an 8-9 percent economic growth for China next year, noting that the steady growth of the Chinese economy will help global financial markets return to normal.

Addressing the gathering, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for a "new world financial architecture" in the wake of the current financial crisis.

The two-day meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is opened in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov. 8, 2008.[Xinhua]

The Brazilian government had earlier said it would propose greater participation of developing countries in restructuring the global financial system at the meeting.

Any progress made at the event will be presented to the first G20 leaders' summit scheduled for Nov. 15 in Washington D.C.

Founded in 1999 as an informal arena to facilitate dialogue between major industrial and emerging-market countries, the G20 accounts for 85 percent of the world's economy and about two-thirds of the world's population.

(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2008)