Leaders from the world's largest wealthy and developing countries will gather on Thursday to discuss ways to support the economic recovery and establish safeguards against future disasters. US President Barack Obama, hosting the Group of 20 summit for the first time, has outlined an agenda that includes addressing the significant imbalances between export-driven countries like China and the heavily indebted United States. Expectations for the summit are modest in the short term, as there is general agreement on the need to create a more balanced global economy and regulate risky banking practices to prevent another financial crisis, but disagreement on the specific methods to achieve these goals. The two-day meeting in Pittsburgh, a city that has faced its own economic challenges as its steel industry declined, will begin with bilateral discussions on Thursday. Obama is hosting a reception and working dinner in the evening, marking the third gathering of G20 leaders since a meeting held shortly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. This event triggered a severe global recession, affecting even countries that had initially avoided the banking crisis due to a significant drop in global trade. This serves as a reminder of the interconnectedness of the world economy. As many countries are now emerging from the recession, the G20 must maintain the sense of urgency demonstrated in April when they agreed to collaborate in rescuing the world economy and providing substantial funding to the International Monetary Fund. Despite various distractions, the focus remains on addressing these important economic issues. Obama is dealing with a lot of issues in domestic policy, like healthcare reform. Angela Merkel is up for election soon. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is warning that countries cannot rely on US consumption for their own growth, and that the US needs to increase its savings. However, some countries were hesitant to establish strict limits on trading imbalances and were opposed to the G20 or the International Monetary Fund interfering in domestic economic policies. Geithner clarified that this was not the intention, but with these concerns in mind, it was unlikely that the G20 would agree on anything more than basic ideas for rebalancing. To highlight the issue, China's private consumption is only a small portion of its economy, while in the US and UK, consumption made up a larger percentage during prosperous times. In comparison, Chinese and Indian households saved a significant portion of their disposable incomes last year, while the US savings rate was much lower. Many European leaders were urging the G20 to focus more on regulating extravagant pay packages and bonuses for bankers who made risky investments that resulted in losses. They also desired to see the United States take more action on addressing climate change, although little progress was expected at the current meeting. The United States has a deadline to implement concrete policies before an international summit on reducing global warming in Copenhagen in December. Emerging economies like Brazil, despite having limited exposure to bad assets during the financial crisis, were interested in establishing stricter regulatory measures at the G20. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticized the economic models that neglected regulation as outdated and ineffective.