U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks about executive compensation at the White House in Washington Feb. 4, 2009. [Xinhua/Zhang Yan]

Meanwhile, Obama urged the Congress to quickly approve the massive stimulus package he proposed to save the sagging U.S. economy.

"No plan is perfect, and we should work to make it stronger," he said. "Let's not make the perfect the enemy of the essential. Let's show people all over our country who are looking for leadership in this difficult time that we are equal to the task."

The president warned that failure of the package may turn the current crisis into a "catastrophe."

"A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe and guarantee a longer recession, a less robust recovery, and a more uncertain future," he said.

"That's why I feel such a sense of urgency about the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan," he added, referring to the over-800-billion-dollar stimulus package.

(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2009)