Britain, as host of the meeting, was expected to seek support from G7 counterparts Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States for an initiative that would double global aid to poor countries to 100 billion dollars (77 billion euros) a year and cancel debt of 80 billion dollars.

China's finance minister and central bank governor were meanwhile to have lunch with their G7 counterparts on Saturday, when they were likely to be told again that the yuan -- pegged to the dollar -- is unfairly undervalued and thereby penalizes exports from Beijing's trading partners.

US Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs John Taylor, told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting that the United States would like to see China "move as quickly as possible towards a flexible exchange rate".

Taylor said: "Our discussions with the Chinese have been good and candid." He was replacing US Treasury Secretary John Snow, absent with a chest cold.

A leading Chinese newspaper said on Friday that the conditions for fine-tuning the exchange rate of China's currency were "basically ripe".

A move to adjust the exchange rate could not be accomplished all at once but the consensus of market opinion was that a gradual adjustment could be undertaken at any time, the China Securities Journal said in a commentary.

With China resisting Western pressure to allow the yuan to float, G7 ministers were likely to have time to debate concrete steps to help the developing world notably in Africa, as well as global growth issues.

Taylor said he would be urging G7 peers to step up their economic growth.