China to fly flag for South at G20 financial summit

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-07 07:25

China will help developing countries at the upcoming G20 summit on the global financial crisis in Washington DC next Saturday, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

"The financial crisis, when it extends, will first hit developing countries, especially those most underdeveloped ones," Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafei told a briefing in Beijing.

"Because they will face decreasing investments and possibly assistance.

"Most people are not caring about these countries, but developed ones' bailout plans instead," he said.

He said rich countries and international organizations, such as the World Bank, should adopt measures to help the developing world get through current hardships.

The summit, called by US President George Bush in mid-October, has been compared to Bretton Woods, the international meeting at a New Hampshire mountain resort in 1944 that led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

President Hu Jintao will attend its modern incarnation.

He Yafei said restoring consumer confidence and stabilizing world financial markets are the most urgent issues to address in Washington DC.

"But it is just a start, as you cannot expect one summit to resolve everything," he said, noting the international community should work together to initiate reform of the current global financial system in the long run.

He said developing countries should also be afforded more say in international financial organizations.

Also on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said China hoped the US would continue its free trade policies when president-elect Barack Obama takes the office in next January.

"Chinese exports, cheap and of good quality, will help the US keep its inflation rate low," the ministry's spokesman Qin Gang told a regular briefing.

"We hope the US abolishes its restrictions on exporting these products to China," Qin said, noting both sides should be cautious about trade protectionism.