Chinese President Hu Jintao left Seoul on Friday afternoon for Japan after attending a summit of the Group of 20 (G20).

The Chinese president was traveling to Yokohama, Japan, for the 18th Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which is slated for Saturday and Sunday.

Hu and other G20 leaders in Seoul discussed how to address the challenges to the ongoing global economic recovery and worked out measures to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced global growth.

The Chinese president elaborated on China's stand on the major topics on the meeting's agenda, including the world economic situation, the "Framework for Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Global Growth," the reform of global financial institutions, the strengthening of financial regulations, and development issues.

At the previous four summits, the G20 leaders formulated measures against the international financial crisis. The summits have played an important role in returning the world economy to growth, stabilizing international financial markets, and ensuring the confidence of the public and business.

When they met last June in Toronto, Canada, the G20 leaders agreed on the importance of safeguarding and strengthening the recovery while laying the foundation for strong, sustainable and balanced growth, and strengthening the financial systems.

The G20 was established in 1999 to bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy.

The members of the G20 are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States, and the European Union (EU).

Together, the G20 members represent around 90 percent of the global gross national product, 80 percent of world trade (including EU intra-trade) as well as two thirds of the world's population.