Chinese president delivers speech at G20 meeting

The seventh G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Saturday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao will deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

Diversity of development models should be respected

Chinese President Hu Jintao urged all countries to intensify dialogue and coordination in macro-economic policy to jointly promote the balanced and orderly development of the world economy.

Hu said with growing economic links and interdependence among all countries, the economic performance of individual countries, especially of major economies, has a profound impact on the world economy while the world economic situation will also significantly affect the development of each economy.

"Hence, to jointly promote balanced and orderly development of the world economy, all countries, major economies in particular, should not only adopt responsible economic policies to introduce necessary economic restructuring, keep major currencies reasonably stable and prevent trade protectionism, but also intensify dialogues on macro-economic policies and, most importantly, coordination on major issues that bear on the overall development of the world economy and the common interest of all countries," Hu said.

Chinese president appeals for closer dialogue, cooperation in macro-economic policy among all countries

Chinese President Hu Jintao urged all countries to intensify dialogue and coordination in macro-economic policy to jointly promote the balanced and orderly development of the world economy. Hu said with growing economic links and interdependence among all countries, the economic performance of individual countries, especially of major economies, has a profound impact on the world economy while the world economic situation will also significantly affect the development of each economy. "Hence, to jointly promote balanced and orderly development of the world economy, all countries, major economies in particular, should not only adopt responsible economic policies to introduce necessary economic restructuring, keep major currencies reasonably stable and prevent trade protectionism, but also intensify dialogues on macro-economic policies and, most importantly, coordination on major issues that bear on the overall development of the world economy and the common interest of all countries," Hu said.

Int'l economic and trading regimes and rules should be improved

Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Saturday that international economic and trading regimes and rules should be improved to promote a balanced and orderly development of the world economy. Hu said to establish a fair and reasonable international economic order as well as sound international economic and trading regimes and rules is an important guarantee for the promotion of balanced and orderly development of the world economy. "We should give vigorous support to efforts to improve the international financial institutions, build up international community's capacity to prevent and cope with crisis and to maintain financial stability and promote development, and create a fair, stable and efficient financial environment for the growth of world economy," he said. "We need to make concerted efforts to stabilize the global energy market so as to forge an environment for adequate supply and safe, economical and clean use of energy to fuel world economic growth," he added. "We should also energetically support the establishment of an open, fair, reasonable and non-discriminative multilateral trading system so as to create a sound trading environment for global economic growth to the benefit of all countries, developing countries in particular," he said. The development of the multilateral trading system is now at a crucial stage, he said, adding that the outcome of the Doha Round will have a direct impact on promoting the balanced and orderly world economic development. He said that parties concerned should display greater political sincerity and demonstrate necessary flexibility to vigorously push forward the Doha Round and work for substantive results at the Ministerial Meeting of the WTO at the end of this year. China is ready to continue its consultation and cooperation with all parties concerned and work hard for the conclusion of the Doha Round in 2006 with comprehensive and balanced outcome, he said.

Chinese president calls for efforts to help developing countries accelerate development

Chinese President Hu Jintao Saturday called for vigorous efforts to help developing countries accelerate development, in a speech at the opening ceremony of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. Hu said that for developing countries as a whole, economic development and the improvement of people's livelihood are the most pressing issues top on their agenda, and that supporting the developing countries in accelerating development is also instrumental for sustaining balanced and orderly world economic development. "It is, therefore, imperative for us to enhance the North-South dialogue, proceed with the gradual establishment of a new type of long-term and all-inclusive North-South partnership, and achieve a win-win result through securing mutual benefits and reciprocity and drawing on one another's successful experience," he said. Hu also urged efforts to improve the development assistance mechanism and encourage more development resources to be diverted into developing countries. "The developed countries should earnestly honor their commitments in poverty reduction, financial assistance and debt relief, and work out and put into practice new financing mechanisms to accelerate the development of developing countries, the least developed ones in particular," he said. The developing countries, on their part, must work even harder to improve their domestic economic climate, use development assistance more effectively and buildup competitiveness through their own efforts and cooperation with others, he said. The international community must set up an effective oversight regime, implement the agreements and achievements reached on development issues at the recent UN summit celebrating its 60th anniversary, and ensure the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals, he said. In a recent announcement, China has pledged new assistance measures in five areas including taxation, debt relief, concessional loans, public health and human resource development with a view to supporting more rapid growth of developing countries. "China will make vigorous efforts to ensure the delivery of its commitments," he said.

Hu urges G20 to enhance dialogue with other economic institutions

Chinese President Hu Jintao urged the G20 members to enhance dialogue with other international and regional economic institutions to boost global development. "In light of the current international context, G20 members must engage in flexible and pragmatic dialogues on the basis of equality and mutual benefits, seeking common grounds while shelving differences," Hu said at the opening ceremony of the Seventh G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. He also urged the G20 members to "increase exchanges and cooperation with other regional and international economic institutions to build trust, expand consensus and coordinate actions." Such moves, he said, will enable the G20 members to play bigger and more active roles that can have a real impact on ameliorating the international trading systems and rules, improving the international economic and financial structures, enhancing North-South dialogue and cooperation and facilitating global efforts in poverty reduction and development. The G20 mechanism has included in its members the primary players of both the developed and developing countries as well as those in transition. The G20 members account for two thirds of the world total population, over 90 percent of the world's gross domestic product and 80 percent foreign trade. "All this has made it (the G20 mechanism) a widely representative and influential international economic forum," Hu said.

China to bring per capita GDP to US$3,000 in 15 years

Chinese President Hu Jintao said in Beijing Saturday China will try to increase its gross domestic product (GDP) to around 4 trillion US dollars and per capita GDP to around 3,000 US dollars in 15 years. To achieve this goal, China must maintain the steady and rapid growth of its economy, the president said at the opening ceremony of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. "We intend to bring our GDP up to around 4 trillion US dollars and per capita GDP to around 3,000 US dollars within the next 15 years, so that we will be able to further develop the economy, improve democracy, advance science and education, enrich culture, foster greater social harmony and upgrade the texture of life for the people," Hu said.

China striving for peaceful, open, cooperative development

Chinese President Hu Jintao said that China will proceed along the path of peaceful development to achieve a peaceful, open and cooperative development. "A long-time lover of peace, the Chinese nation always cherishes such beliefs that one should be kind and trustworthy to its neighbors and endeavors to build a harmonious neighborhood," Hu said in a speech at the opening ceremony of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. He said the Chinese people are keenly aware that only the development achieved through peaceful means can be the one that is sustainable and solid and the one that serves the interests of people in China and across the world. "Therefore, China will proceed along the path of peaceful development to achieve a peaceful, open and cooperative development," Hu said, adding that peaceful development means that China is to develop itself through working for a peaceful international environment and in return, promote world peace through its own development. Speaking of the open development, Hu said, while relying largely on its own development efforts, China is to persist with its opening-up strategy; play a more active role in international economic and technological cooperation and competition, continue to improve the investment environment and open up its market with a higher level on all fronts. For the cooperative development, he said China is to broaden its exchanges and cooperation with the rest of the world, actively participate in the formulation of international economic and trade rules, work with others to resolve difficulties and differences that arise in cooperation and try its best to achieve mutual benefits and a win-win result.

China boosting sustainable development: Chinese president

Hu said that China will strive to bring its economic and social development to the track of sustainable development that is people-centered, balanced and all-dimensional. China is currently drawing up the 2006-2010 Program for National Economic and Social Development, Hu said at the opening ceremony of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. He added China will continue to pursue economic and social development under the concept of scientific development. "We will adhere to the policy of expanding domestic demand and blaze a new trail to industrialization featuring high scientific and technological content, good economic returns, low resources consumption, little environmental pollution and a full display of advantages in human resources," said the president. China will also accelerate economic restructuring and the transformation of the mode of economic growth, enhance innovative ability, make further progress in reform and openness, facilitate a balanced development between rural and urban areas and among different regions, and concentrate more on building a harmonious society, with the view to bringing china's economic and social development to the track of sustainable development that is people-centered, balanced and all-dimensional. Since the reform and opening-up 27 years ago, Hu said, China has put in place an initial system of socialist market economy and a basic structure of all-dimensional openness. China's economy has sustained a rapid growth and its people now live a comfortable life, a historic breakthrough from a period of having only their basic needs met, Hu said. "Nevertheless, we are also clearly aware that China remains the biggest developing country in the world that features a huge population, weak economic basis, uneven development and heavy environmental pressure, and that its people's living standards are still not so high." "Hence, modernization in China remains a long and uphill journey that will entail many years of hard work," Hu said. The Chinese president said China has set the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way. On the country's development goal, he said, "We intend to bring our GDP up to around 4 trillion US dollars and per capita GDP to around 3,000 US dollars within the next 15 years, so that we will be able to further develop the economy, improve democracy, advance science and education, enrich culture, foster greater social harmony and upgrade the texture of life for the people." To achieve this goal, China must maintain the steady and rapid growth of its economy. According to him, ample labor resources, huge demand of the domestic market, a high household savings rate and social and political stability are the favorable elements that will secure China's sustained and rapid economic growth. A sustained momentum of sound development of China's economy will not only benefit the 1.3 billion Chinese people, but also generate tremendous business opportunities and market potentials for all the countries in the world.

Source: Xinhua