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President Hu arrives in Seoul for G20 summit

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-11-11 13:13

China's President Hu Jintao and his wife Liu Yongqing wave as they arrive at the airport in Seoul, November 11, 2010, on the first day of the G20 Summit.[Photo/Agencies]

SEOUL - Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Seoul Thursday for the fifth summit of the Group of Twenty (G20), which will address the challenges to the ongoing global economic recovery from a world financial crisis and pave ways for future sustainable and balanced growth.

At the meeting, the Chinese president is expected to expound China's stand on major issues to be discussed at the Seoul summit, according to Chinese officials.

With "Shared Growth Beyond Crisis" as the catchphrase of the fifth G20 summit, the leaders are expected to discuss the world economic situation, the "Framework for Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Global Growth," the reform of global financial institutions, the strengthening of financial regulations, a global financial safety net and development issues.

In a written interview with France's Le Figaro newspaper and Portugal's Lusa News Agency last week, President Hu said that currently, the world economy is recovering slowly but its base is not solid and the process is unbalanced, so big uncertainty lingers.

The world still faces severe challenges before it could escape the shadow of the international financial crisis and return to robust economic growth, he said.

"The G20 Seoul summit should mainly discuss remaining unified to solve the basic problems that triggered the international financial crisis and consolidating the momentum of the world economic recovery," said the president.

In the interview, President Hu put forward proposals aimed at securing the momentum of the world economic recovery, stressing the importance of reforming the international financial system and fighting trade protectionism.

At a press conference last Monday, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said that G20 members should enhance coordination on macro-economic policies based on the principle of mutual benefit and win-win results and to send a positive signal that the G20 nations will work together to deal with major economic challenges.

China is ready to work with other G20 members to "promote the reform of the international financial institutions, tighten supervision of the international financial market and increase the voice and representation of the newly emerging markets and developing countries in international financial institutions," he said.

"The involved parties are expected to help narrow the development gap between the North and the South and provide political support for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)," Liu said.

China hoped that the G20 countries could make joint efforts to "curb trade protectionism and secure a comprehensive and balanced outcome of the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations," Liu added.

At the previous four summits, the G20 leaders worked successfully to maintain the stability of the world financial market, avert an economic catastrophe, and secure a global economic recovery.

When they met last June in Toronto, 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.

At the Seoul Summit, according to the host South Korea, the G20 will build on past agreements, while introducing new agenda items that support the same fundamental goals.

South Korea said it will support discussion of a system of global financial safety nets and plans to reduce global poverty and the development gap.

In a message published on the G20 Seoul Summit Website, President of the Republic of Korea Lee Myung-bak said that during the Toronto Summit last June, the leaders agreed to reach an agreement on many of the important topics during the G20 Seoul Summit.

"We promised to do all that we can to bring about workable and substantive agreements on issues such as reform of international financial institutions, financial regulatory reform and balanced and sustainable growth, among others," says the president.

"Further more, we seek to achieve progress in topics of global interest, including the Global Financial Safety net and the issue of development," Lee said.

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

In addition to leaders from the 20 member countries, the heads of key international institutions, including the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Financial Stability Board, are expected to participate in the Seoul summit.

From Seoul, President Hu will travel to Yokohama, Japan, for the 18th Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on Friday afternoon.