CHINA> Battling Economic Crisis
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CHINA> Battling Economic Crisis
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Leaders call for world of cooperation
By Sun Shangwu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-10 07:58 L'AQUILA, Italy: Leaders of the eight industrialized countries and five emerging economies Thursday discussed issues facing both rich and poor nations, including economic recovery, climate change, energy security, food security and international trade. The G5 - China, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa - along with special invitee Egypt called for the carrying out of the goals at the G20 London summit. The G5 leaders - saying that developing countries have suffered the most in the current financial crisis - urged the international community to pay close attention to worsening global poverty and the deteriorating development environment. They also promised to make efforts in pushing the stalled Doha trade round and climate change, and to strike a balance between seeking development and protecting the environment. The G5 made its fifth straight appearance at the annual summit hosted by the G8, made up of the US, Britain, Russia, Germany, France, Canada, Japan and the host, Italy. Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, on behalf of President Hu Jintao, spoke at the summit, urging all major economic powers to think about other countries when drafting economic policies. All economies are closely interacted, he said. Dai called upon the international community to do the following: improve the international currency system; strengthen the controlling mechanism for issuing reserve currency; keep stable the exchange rate of major reserve currency; and make the international currency system diversified and rational. China, India and Brazil have questioned whether the world should start seeking a new global reserve currency as an alternative to the dollar. Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said developing economies in the G5 have suggested using alternative currencies to conduct trade among themselves, but no details were given. Dai urged international financial institutions to provide loans to developing nations in "more flexible and convenient ways".
The developed countries should take into consideration different national conditions, historical responsibility and per capita emission of developing countries, Dai said. The G8 agreed at the summit that the international community shares common interest on climate change and that the problem could not be resolved without the participation of developing countries. They agreed to help developing countries get development capital. Dai said the improvement of global governance is important for pushing the coordinated and sustainable development of the world economy. The reform should be carried out with the participation of all countries, to bring benefits to all countries and people, he said. US President Barack Obama Thursday met Dai at the summit. Obama said he was looking forward to his visit to China in the second half of this year. Obama said the US attaches importance to bilateral relations and expects the China-US strategic and economic dialogues to bring achievement. |
