Washington ? The exclusive club of world leaders, known as the Group of Eight, has an identity crisis. It often is described as a collection of the richest countries or largest industrial democracies.

It is neither.

The partnership is under pressure to open the door to new members; China, India and South Korea come to mind. Doing so would reflect the rapidly changing global economy and maintain the strategic role for which the group was organized in the first place.

Yet not one of the current members seems to want to make the first move toward expansion.

These strains will be on display in Gleneagles, Scotland, this week when President Bush meets with leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia for the group’s 30th annual economic summit.

China’s economy has surpassed Italy’s and is racing to the front of the global pack. India, the world’s largest democracy, is surging ahead, too.

Six other countries not in the club boast economies that are stronger than Russia’s. They are Australia, Brazil, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Korea and Spain.

“It’s hard to talk meaningfully about the world economy any more without China being included,” said Grant Aldonas, an international trade lawyer who was commerce undersecretary in Bush’s first term. Aldonas said a strong case could be made for bringing in other nations with fast-growing economies.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, this year’s summit host, has invited leaders from Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa to attend the summit. They will participate in a discussion on relieving poverty, particularly in Africa, and on climate change.

A former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Holbrooke, suggested in a speech to the Asia Society in New York last month that the annual G-8 summit had become “a complete anachronism” because it includes Russia, Italy and Canada but neither China nor India.

By 2050, the countries with the top economies are expected to be the U.S., China, India, Japan, Britain, France, Germany and South Korea. Current club members Italy and Russia would not rank in the top 10.

The problem with inviting China, critics say, is that all current members have open-market democracies.

Yet democratic India is excluded despite having a dynamic economy and the expectation it will be a major player on the world stage for years to come.