BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend the opening ceremony of the Group of 20 (G20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting and make a keynote speech, Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan announced here Friday.

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will convene in China from Oct. 15 to 16.

The G20 was founded in 1999 in Berlin as an informal arena to foster dialogue between major industrial and emerging market countries.

The G20 members include China, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and United States and the European Union, as well as specially invited International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

It is the first time for China to host the G20 meeting, the spokesman said, noting that the theme of the meeting is "enhancing global cooperation and promoting global economic development in balance and order".