Nations Splinter on Economic Recovery

In a sharp deviation from previous G-20 summits, major world leaders failed to reach a consensus on how to stave off the global economic crisis, instead opting to implement economic-recovery strategies individually tailored to each nation. The two conflicts at the heart of the summit were cutting deficits but not stunting growth and cracking down on risky bank behavior without suppressing lending. Many European nations were on board with slashing deficits by half by 2013, but other nations—including the United States—were against it. President Barack Obama said: "Our challenges are as diverse as our nations... But together we represent some 85 percent of the global economy, and we have forged a coordinated response to the worst global economic crisis of our time." According to the International Monetary Fund, negotiators spent 45 hours drafting the summit's final report, which allows each nation to proceed individually with controversial measures and ultimately failed to mention China's yuan currency.