With an economy that is still growing and a foreign exchange reserve worth nearly $2 trillion, China was the focus of attention as world leaders gathered in Washington, D.C. on November 15 to find a way out of the global financial crisis.

The Group of 20 (G-20) Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, the so-called "Bretton Woods II" conference, brought together G8 members plus emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and others, which together represented 85 percent of the world economy and about two thirds of the world population.

China, one of the few summit participants with the financial power to aid countries struggling to raise capital, was expected to be the most sought-after country ahead of the weekend gathering.

The announcement of a widely hailed 4- trillion-yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package one week prior to the G-20 summit provided more evidence for commentators and observers anticipating that China would play a key role at the conference.

"It certainly puts [Chinese President] Hu Jintao into an extremely strong position, coming into the meeting," said Nicholas Lardy, an expert on the Chinese economy at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, as quoted by the International Herald Tribune on November 14.

Greater power, louder voice

During the one-day closed meeting, President Hu delivered a speech detailing China's efforts to stabilize domestic economic development.

"The stable and rapid development of China's economy itself is an important contribution to the maintenance of international financial stability and the promotion of world economic development," Hu said, echoing previous statements by Chinese officials.

"I think it's probably true for every country," said Lardy of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, during an interview with Beijing Review. He said that the best thing for the global economy now would be for every country to pass a stimulus plan, like China has done, to boost domestic economic growth. "Then the depth and length of global recession would be smaller than it would otherwise be," Lardy said.

But countries in dire need of money and international organizations eager to combat the crisis expect China to do more than promote domestic economic growth.

They have focused on China's enviable amount of foreign exchange reserves and its willingness to draw upon those reserves to support others, which some economists and scholars consider a test for China to be a vital player on the world stage.

"The true test is whether China will be willing to contribute to an international effort, such as augmenting its contributions to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)," said Huang Yasheng, associate professor of political economy and international management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The G-20 summit could be a stunning platform for China to demonstrate its importance and make its voice heard.

China could pledge some funds, but China has to decide whether it will become a world player with a voice, said Mauricio Cárdenas, Director of the Latin America Initiative at the Brookings Institution. "If [China] chooses to do that, I think it's the right time," Cárdenas said in an interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV.