G20 Summit: Big 3 trading nations agree to work together

Leaders of the Big 3 trading nations, the US, China and Germany, have agreed to work together towards achieving sustained development of the global economy. The broad agreement was arrived at after US president Barrack Obama held wide-ranging talks with China's president Hu Jintao and German chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in Seoul, South Korea.

Obama and Hu were careful to avoid any specific mention of their dispute over Beijing's currency policies, a major irritant on bilateral trade. And, despite simmering tensions with US policies, German chancellor Merkel also said cooperation is "absolutely necessary" in a world that can only solve its problems together.

US officials had already discounted possibilities of resolving its dispute with China over currency policies before the G20 summit as they felt it would require additional efforts with Beijing.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, however, said the currency issue was by far the bulk of the meeting of the two presidents.

"If individual countries are engaging in practices that are purposely designed to boost their exports at the expense of others, that can contribute problems as opposed to solving them," Giggs quoted Obama as saying. 

However, Obama and Hu said the two countries have a special obligation to ensure strong, balanced and sustained growth and that they expect significant progress on a range of issues as they increase dialogue and cooperation.