Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren said on Friday that the current economic stimulus measures should be maintained to ensure economic recovery and growth worldwide.

After a BRIC-country meeting held in London, Xie told a news conference that the four countries are now at a key stage of economic recovery, and should strengthen their coordination of economic policy.

The finance ministers and central bank governors of Brazil, Russia, India and China, the so-called BRIC countries, gathered in London on Friday to discuss the current situation of the world economy, as well as their governments' fiscal and monetary policy responses.


Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren (C) speaks at a press conference after the meeting with his counterparts from Rissa, Brazil and India in London, capital of the U.K., Sept. 4, 2009. Finance ministers and central bank governors of the BRIC nations, namely Brazil, Russia, India and China, met here on Friday to discuss the situation of the world economy, as well as fiscal and monetary policy responses in BRIC countries, ahead of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors' meeting. (Xinhua/Zeng Yi)

Xie stressed that promoting the reform of international financial institutions is a common consensus reached at the G20 summit held in London in April, adding that "we must put it into practice in accordance with the timetable."

The Chinese minister also called on the international community to attach great importance to the imbalance between the North and the South, and to further help developing countries realize common development, so as to achieve a fundamental balance and sustainable growth of the global economy.

Officials from Brazil, Russia and India echoed Xie's opinion, saying that they hoped the G20 countries would not abandon their fiscal stimulus packages too early.

They vowed to make more efforts to maintain world trade growth and sustainable economic growth, and looked forward to strengthening the role of the new emerging countries in the international financial institutions.


Alexey Kudrin (2nd L), Xie Xuren (4th L), Guido Mantega (4th R) and Pranab Mukherjee (2nd R), finance ministers from Russia, China, Brazil and India, have a group photo taken with other attendees prior to their meeting in London, capital of the U.K., Sept. 4, 2009. (Xinhua/Zeng Yi)

During the meeting, held on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting to be held this weekend, the BRIC officials "noted the key role that the G20 has played as the focal point in the coordination of international responses to the global crisis and exchanged views on the reform of international financial institutions."

The officials agreed that emerging market economies have shown resilience and helped the world economy absorb the impact of the deterioration of trade, credit flows and demand. In many of them, growth is already back on track after a few quarters of recession or slowdown.

Despite these positive signs, it is too early to declare the end of the crisis. The global economy still face great uncertainty, and significant risks remain to economic and financial stability, they said.

The BRIC countries called on the G20 countries to continue to implement countercyclical fiscal and monetary policies in a sustainable and internationally-coordinated manner, and take effective measures to guard against potential economic risks while respecting the particular conditions of each country.


Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren (2nd R) speaks at a press conference after meeting with his counterparts from Rissa, Brazil and India in London, capital of the U.K., Sept. 4, 2009. (Xinhua/Zeng Yi)

Source: Xinhua