Leaders from the world's largest wealthy and developing nations are meeting on Thursday in an effort to support the economic recovery and establish safeguards against future crises. US President Barack Obama, hosting his first Group of 20 summit, has set an agenda that includes addressing the significant imbalances between major exporting countries like China and the heavily indebted United States. Initial expectations for the summit were modest, with some agreement on principles such as creating a more balanced global economy and regulating risky lending practices to prevent another financial crisis, but little consensus on how to achieve these goals. The two-day summit in Pittsburgh, a city that has experienced economic struggles due to the decline of its steel industry, will begin with bilateral talks on Thursday. Obama is hosting a reception and working dinner in the evening, marking the third gathering of the G20 leaders since the meeting that took place shortly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. This event signaled the start of a severe global recession, affecting even countries that were not directly impacted by the banking crisis due to a significant decrease in global trade. As the recession seems to be coming to an end in many countries, the G20 must maintain the same level of urgency that was present in April when they agreed to collaborate on rescuing the world economy and committed to providing substantial funding to support the International Monetary Fund's efforts in combating crises. Despite the current distractions, it is crucial for the G20 to stay focused on their goals. Obama is dealing with difficulties in domestic policy, particularly with his efforts to reform healthcare. Angela Merkel is preparing for an upcoming election. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is suggesting that countries should not rely on US consumption for their own growth, as the US needs to increase its savings. This message will be conveyed to G20 officials during a meeting on Thursday. However, some countries were hesitant to impose strict limits on trading imbalances and were opposed to the G20 or the International Monetary Fund interfering with their domestic economic policies. Geithner clarified that this was not the goal, but due to these concerns, it was unlikely that the G20 would agree on anything more than basic ideas for rebalancing. To illustrate the problem, China's private consumption is only about a third of its economy, while in the US and UK, consumption made up nearly three-quarters of the economy during prosperous times. In contrast, Chinese and Indian households saved around 40% and 32% of their disposable incomes last year, whereas the US savings rate was just 3.2%. Numerous European leaders advocated for the G20 to focus more on regulating excessive pay and bonuses for bankers who made risky investments that went wrong. They also hoped for the United States to make more progress on addressing climate change, although it was unlikely to happen at this meeting. The United States was urged to implement concrete policies before an upcoming international meeting on reducing global warming in Copenhagen in December. Emerging economies like Brazil, which were affected by the financial crisis despite limited exposure to bad assets, were eager to reach an agreement on stricter regulatory rules at the G20. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticized economic models that lacked regulation, calling them outdated and ineffective.