CHINA CALLS FOR UNITED REPONSE, PLEDGES TO HELP STABILISE WORLD ECONOMY

By Tham Choy Lin

BEIJING, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- President Hu Jintao on Friday called for a
united response to fight the international financial crisis and pledged China's
cooperation to help stabilise the world economy amid deepening fears of a
recession.

Hu told a summit of Asian and European leaders that China's economic
fundamentals were unchanged even though the country was now facing many
difficulties and challenges.

"China is a developing country with 1.3 billion people, and the Chinese
economy is increasingly interconnected with the global economy. China's sound
economic growth is in itself a major contribution to global financial stability
and economic growth," he said in a speech at the opening of the Seventh
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

The two-day summit is attended by leaders from 17 Asian and 28 European
members. Among them are Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, French
President Nicolas Sarkozy, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonoand European
Commission president Jose Manuel Baroso.

The financial crisis untamed so far despite massive bailouts and capital
injections by the United States and other developed economies is expectedly
topping the agenda here.

Attention is on China, the world's fourth largest economy and the most
populous, to work the levers of the stuttering world economy as the country's
turns to spur domestic demand to counter falling exports.

Abdullah told Malaysian media earlier Friday that finance ministers and
central bankers of the 10-member Asean grouping, China, Japan and South Korea
would meet next month in Manila to map specific responses and possibly to speed
up a US$80 billion safety fund approved earlier this year before the crisis
broke.

The Prime Minister had met fellow Asean leaders over a working dinner
Thursday and they had breakfast with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime
Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak under the Asean Plus
Three process to discuss the financial meltdown.

President Hu said the international community must "enhance policy
coordination, strengthen cooperation and make a common response" as the crisis
was having a serious impact on economic development and livelihoods across the
globe.

"At this crucial moment, confidence is more important than anything else.
Only with strong confidence and concerted efforts can we weather the crisis," he
said.

China would take more proactive and timely policies because of the changing
situation, strengthen domestic demand and maintain a stable economy and
financial sector to promote sound and fast growth, he added.

The crisis has overshadowed the agenda of climate change and issues of food
and energy security at the ASEM summit that is held every two years.

The official Xinhua News Agency said China would propose setting up an
eco-city network in Asia, and France, the current president of the European
Union, would table a statement on climate change.
-- BERNAMA