Chinese President Hu Jintao's participation in the Economic Leaders'
Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Lima on
November 17-26 and his state visits to Costa Rica, Cuba, Peru and Greece are
rich in content and fruitful in result, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi
said yesterday.
As the world financial situation is becoming increasingly grave and
China-Latin America, China-Greece relations are entering a new phase of
historical development, President Hu's trip is of great significance in
enhancing international cooperation to cope with global financial crisis and
boosting the further growth of China-Latin America, China-Greece ties.
During his visit, Hu attended more than 70 activities and signed over 30
cooperation agreements with different countries. Hu was received with the
highest courtesy and great warmth in all the countries he visited. The visits
have also attracted great international and local media attention and been given
heavy coverage.
ENHANCE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGAINST FINANCIAL CRISIS
At the meetings, President Hu Jintao stressed the importance for
international community to strengthen confidence, cooperation and coordination
to tackle jointly the current financial crisis, maintain world financial
stability, and promote global economic growth.
Hu proposed a number of measures to solve the current crisis, including
strengthening coordination of macro-economic policies, curbing the spread of
financial crisis through all necessary fiscal and monetary means to avoid a
possible global economic downturn.
He proposed to adhere to the right orientation in establishing a new
international financial order that is fair, just, inclusive, and orderly.
Necessary reforms should be carried out in international financial system by
following the principles of comprehensiveness, balance, step by step and
effectiveness to create the system environment for the sound development of the
world economy.
He also proposed to change the existing mode of unsustainable economic growth
in an effort to solve the deep-seated problems in economic growth of various
countries.
Hu also called for support to the developing countries struck by the
financial crisis to help keep the momentum of their economic development.
BOOSTING STABLE DEVELOPMENT OF PRAGMATIC COOPERATION AMONG APEC MEMBERS
At the meeting, Hu put forward five-point proposals on dealing with major
global issues of common concern.
He urged APEC member economies to build consensus and promote sound
development of the multilateral trading regime.
He also urged them to take up responsibilities and jointly tackle climate
change.
In addition, APEC member economies should enhance exchanges and cooperation
and join forces to combat natural disasters, he said.
Efforts should be made to regulate guidance and strengthen corporate social
responsibility, he added.
The Chinese president also stressed the importance for APEC members to take
coordinated actions and ensure world food and energy security.
On APEC's future development, Hu said APEC should maintain its nature of a
forum for economic cooperation and its approach of conducting cooperation on a
non-binding basis.
He said that the APEC members should continue to promote balanced progress in
economic and technical cooperation and trade and investment liberalization.
"In particular, we should increase input in economic and technical
cooperation to enhance capacity-building in developing members and narrow the
development gap."
Hu also presented proposals on tackling climate change, combating natural
disasters and boosting the exploration of human resources.
He expressed China's willingness to help finance the network for Asia-Pacific
forest restoration and sustained management, and host the APEC Human Resources
Development Ministerial Meeting in 2010.
The proposals have drawn widespread welcome and support from the
participating members.
FURTHER CHINA'S TIES WITH LATIN AMERICA, GREECE
During his visits to the three Latin American countries, Hu had exchanges of
views in an in-depth manner with their leaders on promoting relations and
cooperation with their countries in all fields.
He also met with people from political, economic and media communities,
highlighting China's readiness to work with Latin American and Caribbean nations
in establishing comprehensive cooperative partnership of mutual benefit and
common development.
During Hu's visit to Costa Rica, the two sides expressed satisfaction over
the development of bilateral ties since they established diplomatic ties more
than one year ago.
Both sides expressed their resolve to deepen mutual trust and cooperation,
and conduct pragmatic cooperation in such priority fields as infrastructure,
agriculture, telecommunication and energy. They also announced the start of the
free trade agreement (FTA) talks between the two countries.
During Hu's Cuba visit, the two sides agreed that maintaining and developing
bilateral long-term cooperation is the needs of the current international
situation and the common wish of the two peoples.
The two sides vowed to expand practical cooperation in the fields of trade
and investment, as well as to enhance exchange and cooperation in culture,
education, health, sports and tourism.
During Hu's visit to Peru, the two sides announced the successful conclusion
of the FTA talks and the formal establishment of strategic partnership between
the two countries.
They agreed to give priority to cooperation in the fields of trade,
investment in mining industry, infrastructure-construction, hi-tech, and poverty
reduction.
In his address to the Peruvian Congress, Hu expounded on China's position on
promoting Sino-Latin America relations and put forward concrete proposals to
boost Sino-Latin America ties.
Hu's proposals included continuously deepening political relations, enhancing
mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation, strengthening communication
and coordination in international affairs, promote interaction and learn from
each other in all fields of social development, and promoting cultural
dialogues.
During Hu's stay in Greece, the two sides spoke highly of their traditional
friendship and their comprehensive strategic partnership. They agreed to join
hands to raise bilateral relations to a new height for the benefits of the two
peoples.
Both sides agreed that pragmatic cooperation in economy, trade and culture
should be the pillar of the two countries' overall cooperation, and vowed to
carry out mutually beneficial cooperation in telecommunication, energy and
environmental protection.
They also agreed to advance cooperation in ocean shipping that integrate
shipping, harbor and logistics, expand cooperation to the fields of
infrastructure construction, investment, financing and harbor administration.
They will also strengthen cooperation in language-teaching, the protection of
cultural relics, and cooperation between their media and publication industries.
ENHANCING COORDINATION, COOPERATION WITH RELEVANT NATIONS
During the visit, President Hu has met with U.S. President George W. Bush,
Russian President Dimitry Medvedev, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Colombian
President Alvaro Uribe and Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Michael Somare in
bilateral meetings and reached wide-ranging agreements with these leaders on
enhancing China's relations with their nations and expand their cooperation in
all fields.
At his meeting with Bush, Hu reviewed the development of China-US ties in the
past seven years and shared with his US counterpart his views on political and
economic links between the two countries as well as on regional and
international issues.
Bush appreciated China's active participation in the G-20 summit and lauded
the constructive role that China played at the meeting. He also thanked China
for its vital contribution to the six-party talks on the denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula.
Bush shared Hu's views on the importance of the US-China economic and trade
relations, and pledged to continue to help promote the development of bilateral
ties after he leaves office early next year.
Hu and Medvedev spoke highly of the China-Russian strategic cooperative
partnership during their meeting, and exchanged views and reached agreements in
deepening the pragmatic cooperation between China and Russia and boosting their
cooperation in the Asian-Pacific region.
During Hu's meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Aso, the two leasers agreed
on efforts to maintain the good momentum of the bilateral ties between their
countries and push foreword their strategic mutual-beneficial relations.
Hu also reached agreements with Uribe and Somare on friendly and
mutual-beneficial cooperation with their countries and in international affairs.
Yang noted that during the visit Hu has discussed with world leaders ways to
tackle the challenges facing the world, and ways to deepen friendly cooperation
with these countries.
He described the visit as fruitful and successful, adding that it succeeded
in deepening friendship, enhancing mutual trust, expanding cooperation and
promoting common development.