(Adds details, background)
PARIS, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The discussion on global economic imbalances that is planned for the G20 meeting of leaders in Pittsburgh should pave the way for a later discussion on currencies, a French official said on Friday.
But the official stressed there were no plans for a discussion on currencies at the Sept. 24-25 meeting.
"At this stage there will not be currency discussions, but the framework that we hope to put in place ... is a way of discussing later the question of exchange rates," said the official, who preferred to remain unnamed.
"No, we will not discuss exchange rates in Pittsburgh but we will put in place a plan so that when we talk in future about China, for example, then we will have to ask ourselves whether China's exchange rate policy is appropriate."
France is supporting a U.S. proposal to discuss building a framework to solve global economic imbalances.
The discussion will focus on ways to find future sources of growth, since some of the recent engines of the world economy, such as the U.S. consumer or the Spanish house buyer, have suffered during the financial crisis, he said.
"The longer term forecasts of the International Monetary Fund are for relatively weak growth because the motors of growth are broken down," the official said. "We need to find a new method of growth."
France is hoping the International Monetary Fund will play an active role in the discussion.
(Reporting by Anna Willard; Editing by David Stamp)