APEC leaders reject "growth as usual"

SINGAPORE: President Hu Jintao joined other leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit Sunday to pursue a new strategy for growth after the global economic crisis and reject protectionism.

The profound impact of the crisis persists and the foundation is not solid enough for a global economic upturn, Hu told the two-day summit that ended Sunday afternoon.

"Economies should take more substantial and effective steps to boost consumption and expand domestic demand," Hu said.

The president returned to Beijing last night after wrapping up a six-day Southeast Asia trip, which brought him to Malaysia and Singapore for state visits and the APEC Leaders' Informal Meeting in the city-state.

The summit capped a weeklong series of APEC events in Singapore with leaders of its 21 member economies, including the United States and China, pushing for efforts to liberalize trade in the region and beyond.

Countries should uphold fair, free and open global trading and investment systems, as well as maintain the free flow of goods, investment and services to help restore world economic growth, Hu said.

Leaders of APEC economies, which account for more than half of the global economy, said they would continue with huge stimulus spending measures "until a durable economic recovery has clearly taken hold".

Leaders said they would also "firmly reject all forms of protectionism and reaffirm our commitment to keep markets open and refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade".

According to a concluding declaration at the summit, it was stated that leaders would not "go back to 'growth as usual'," and that a new growth paradigm and model of economic integration was needed.