Britain has invited Chinese finance minister Jin Renqing to attend a breakfast with Group of Seven counterparts on Saturday, June 11 in London, the UK Treasury said today.
The Treasury said the invitations had only just gone out and it had not yet received any formal acceptances.
China has come under increasing pressure from countries like the United States to adjust its currency's peg to the dollar in recent months and foreign exchange markets have been eagerly awaiting any news suggesting Beijing is ready to oblige.
But the June 11 breakfast meeting is more likely to focus on medium-term issues and global economic trends than currencies or the current imbalances in the global economy.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has also written to finance ministers from India, South Africa and Brazil inviting them to attend the same meeting.
G7 finance ministers will be meeting in London on June 10 and 11 ahead of a summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, in July at which the British presidency wants to reach agreement on debt relief for Africa.