Chinese President Hu Jintao's participation in the Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Lima on Nov.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 here Thursday.
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
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 th 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-U.S. ties in the past seven years and shared with his U.S. 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 U.S.-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.
(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2008)
