Hu calls for new impetus by G20

President Hu Jintao said the world economy, although on the path to recovery, still faces instability and uncertainty as he met on Sunday with his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon, host of the two-day G20 summit.

Chinese President Hu Jintao meets with his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon in Los Cabos on June 17, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

China hopes the G20 members will stick together in difficult times and pursue win-win cooperation, and be committed to ensuring growth, stability and employment, injecting new impetus into the group, said Hu at the meeting in the Mexican resort of Los Cabos.

He added that China is ready to work with Mexico to push for active results from the summit.

Calderon said Mexico attaches importance to the role that China plays in G20, and hopes to strengthen cooperation with China to ensure progress is made at the summit, and jointly preserve the interests of the emerging economies and developing countries.

At the G20 summit on Monday and Tuesday, the G20 leaders will discuss the world economic situation, strengthening of the financial system, development, and trade issues.

The euro-zone debt crisis, slowdowns in major developed nations and even in emerging economies, and high unemployment in parts of the world are all posing threats to a weak recovery.

In an interview published on Saturday in Reforma, a major Mexican newspaper, Hu urged members of G20 to sustain and strengthen the "hard-won" momentum of economic recovery.

"We need to enhance macro-economic policy coordination, and all countries should pursue win-win cooperation through concerted efforts," he said.

Regarding the European sovereign debt as "an issue of general concern", Hu said "G20 should address it in a constructive and cooperative way, encourage and support efforts made by Europe to resolve it and send a signal of confidence to the market".

Economic coordination, both domestically and internationally, proves to be difficult, but Europe and the United States, should take more active steps to resolve their problems, said Zhang Haibing, an economic studies expert with the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

Developing countries should not be overlooked amid the problems, Zhang said. Otherwise, the realization of the Millennium Development Goals for 2015, eight targets that include reducing infant mortality and eradicating poverty, looks bleak, she said.

At the seventh G20 summit, Hu is expected to expand on China's stance regarding key issues.

Hu has participated in the previous six meetings.

At his meeting with Calderon Hu said that China and Mexico can tap the potential in mutual investment and improve cooperation in tourism, agriculture and science, while strengthening coordination on key world issues to preserve the common interests of the developing countries.

Calderon said China has played an important role in world peace and stability, and Mexico is ready to improve cooperation and coordination with China on world affairs.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Mexico. The countries have maintained close exchanges since they forged diplomatic ties in 1972, and particularly since they established a strategic partnership in 2003.

China is a major trading partner to Mexico. Bilateral trade volume reached $33 billion in 2011, an increase of 34 percent over the previous year.

The two countries have also maintained favorable communication and coordination on international and regional affairs.

Hu also met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on Sunday to strengthen bilateral and China-African ties. Meles is in Los Cabos as Mexico, the host of the summit, has invited Ethiopia and some other non-G20 members to attend the meeting.

Hu is also expected to meet leaders from Germany, France and the US during the next two days alongside the summit.

Since heads of states and governments of G20 members met for the first time in Washington in 2008 to work out an action plan to prevent the global economy from collapsing, leaders of the G20 members have met regularly - in London in April 2009, Pittsburgh in September 2009, Toronto in June 2010, Seoul in November 2010, and Cannes in November 2011.

Hu told Reforma that G20, consisting of both major developed countries and emerging market economies, has a balanced composition and is representative of the global economy.

It has played an important role in addressing international financial crisis and promoting world economic stability and recovery, and has become the premier platform of global economic governance, he said.

wujiao@chinadaily.com.cn