How to make the G-8 'club' a little less cozy

The world's exclusive club of powerful industrial nations, called the Group of Eight, may soon become less snooty, more democratic, and more representative of the changing world.

The move, if it comes, underlines the growing clout of the developing world. But recognition won't come easily as the world's traditional - and mostly Western - powers cling to the levers of influence over the global economy and, at times, its politics.

The immediate question for the cozy club: Should it expand wholesale or step by step?

The question is sparked by the rise of China - still ranked as a poor, developing nation but coming on strong.

At last year's summit in Évian, France, French President Jacques Chirac invited China's president, Hu Jintao, as a guest. The Bush administration did not invite Mr. Hu to this year's G-8 summit, which winds up Thursday on Sea Island, a coastal resort off Georgia. But possibly as a first step toward full membership, the United States is considering asking China's finance minister and chief central banker to the fall session of the Group of Seven (G-7).

Admittedly, this alphanumeric soup can get confusing. The G8 summits involve the top leaders of the US, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, and Russia, whomeet once a year. The G-7 involves the finance officials of all those nations except Russia, and convenes twice a year. (The meetings also include the president of the European Central Bank.)

There is a growing sentiment among some intellectuals and in some capitals that the G-8 summits, which on occasion lead to significant decisions in regard to the world economy or the political scene, are not diverse enough. Except for Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the summiteers at Sea Island are white and of European extraction.

Instead, critics charge, the wealthy economic powers need to involve poorer nations to deal with problems of growth, inflation, oil prices, currency prices, globalization, trade, and so on.

The pressures for change are building. A new study by two economists at Goldman Sachs International proposes that China be invited to join the G-7 meetings of finance ministers and central bankers.

At present, the G-7 countries account for 44 percent of world output and a mere 14 percent of world population - both shrinking percentages.

In contrast, the developing nations' share is growing. Today they account for 39 percent of global output and more than 80 percent of the world's population. (That output is measured in terms of purchasing power, rather than by foreign exchange rates.)

Admitting China would help ease the G-8's representation problem and there is precedent for this step-by-step approach. When President Ford convened a second summit in 1976, Canada was invited to join to balance the heavy weighting of European countries in the first summit. Russia was allowed to join in 1998. But China's accession alone doesn't solve the problem.

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