The leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) will meet in London on Thursday to discuss the financial crisis and world economy.

The following is a brief introduction to the major achievements of the G20's first summit in Washington last November.

With the economic crisis sweeping the world, the leaders of the G20 met in Washington D.C. on November 15, 2008.

The summit achieved general agreement among members of the G20 on the root causes of the crisis, as well as on how to cooperate in key areas so as to strengthen economic growth, reject trade protectionism and lay the foundation for reform to prevent a similar crisis from happening again.

Major underlying factors to the global economic meltdown were, among others, inconsistent and insufficiently coordinated macroeconomic policies and inadequate structural reforms, which led to unsustainable global macroeconomic outcomes, according to a summit statement.

Market participants sought higher yields without adequate appreciation of the risks, and failed to exercise proper due diligence, which was also one of the root causes of the crisis, the statement said.

It said the world's regulators must strengthen cooperation, support competition, dynamism and innovation in the marketplace. They should also strive to strengthen transparency and supervision mechanisms in the financial market.

The G20 leaders pledged to protect and strengthen the credibility of the global financial market and prevent illegal market manipulation, fraudulent activities and abuse, as well as guard against financial risks.

The members also agreed that efforts should be made to reject protectionism, refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, imposing new export restrictions, or implementing the World Trade Organization's (WTO) inconsistent measures to stimulate exports.

They also formulated an action plan to effectively implement immediate and medium-term measures as set by the G20 meeting.

The action plan also involved measures to strengthen transparency and accountability of the financial market, improve its management and integrity, enhance global cooperation, and promote reform of global financial institutions.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2009)