* U.S. to seek APEC support to limit trade imbalances
* "Concrete guidelines" possible by Seoul summit-official
* U.S. sees China in agreement with imbalance goals. (Recasts, adds quotes, background on current account debate)
By David Lawder
WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The United States will seek support from Pacific Rim finance ministers for "concrete guidelines" to limit trade imbalances this weekend in hopes that Group of 20 leaders can hammer out final language next week in Seoul, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Tuesday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will arrive on Saturday in Kyoto, Japan, for the meeting of finance ministers from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation countries.
He will encourage APEC exporters to contribute to rebalancing the global economy by adopting structural changes to help reduce their current account surpluses. Buy-in from APEC, which includes several G20 members, will make a deal on specific goals more likely at the Seoul summit, the Treasury official said.
"It's unlikely that you're going to see a major breakthrough in terms of public commitments at APEC," the official told a news briefing. "Seoul is the main destination. APEC is a very important step on the road."
G20 finance ministers in Gyeongju, South Korea, late last month sought to defuse rising currency tensions by agreeing to shun competitive devaluations. They also agreed on the need to reduce "persistently large" current account surpluses and deficits, but failed to agree on specific targets as a percentage of gross domestic product.
The United States had proposed a goal of 4 percent of GDP, but this was resisted by several export-driven economies, such as Germany and Japan.
The Treasury official declined to say directly whether the United States believes it can achieve specific numerical target ranges for sustainable current account surpluses and deficits at the Nov. 11-12 Seoul summit. He expects a "vigorous debate" on the topic.
"We are pushing for concrete guidelines that will provide a basis for countries to commit to, and to provide a basis for effective monitoring by the IMF," the official said. "We would like to have guidelines that are as concrete as possible."
STIFF OPPOSITION
The United States faces stiff opposition for specific targets. Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the idea of current account targets in a speech to Germany's parliament. Some estimates have Germany's current account surplus rising to 6 percent next year.
"First of all we have to understand, that quantitative targets for current-account imbalances can be no solution" Merkel said. "Current-account imbalances are an expression of the competitiveness of economies, are the result of market developments, and one should not interfere into these artificially".
China has shown somewhat more receptiveness to the idea. Yi Gang, a People's Bank of China vice governor, told a conference last week that there was a "foundation to reach agreement" but that China would only set targets of its own volition.
Yi has said that China is drafting a plan to limit its current account surplus to less than 4 percent of GDP over the next three to five years.
The U.S. Treasury official repeated Geithner's language that Beijing views a more balanced economy in its interests.
"They understand the need to contain their current account surplus. Their overall strategic orientation is fully consistent with what we're trying to reach agreement on," the official said.
However, he said other nations with current account surpluses, without citing any specific countries, must start to consider how their policies affect the global economy and recognize the need to limit their surpluses.
Between the APEC meeting in Kyoto and the G20 summit in Seoul on Nov. 11-12, Geithner will visit Delhi to join President Barack Obama for meetings with India's leaders and make stops in Abu Dhabi and Singapore. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by James Dalgleish and Dan Grebler)