Chinese President Hu Jintao claps hands during his speech to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2004 CEO Summit in Santiago, capital of Chile, on Nov. 19, 2004.

President Hu Jintao delivered a speech at the APEC CEO summit last Friday, Nov.19, in Santiago. The following is the full text of his speech:

Distinguished guests, friends,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to join so many business leaders from the Asia-Pacific region in the beautiful city of Santiago, and to discuss with you the issue of sustainable development of the world economy in the context of globalization.

A sustainable development of the world economy is a major issue of immediate and far-reaching significance. It bears on the current development of the countries and the future of entire mankind. Visionary political leaders and responsible business leaders alike should work together toward this end.

Some important features and trends in world economic development merit our close attention. They include: rapid progress in science and technology, which substantially increases man's ability to understand and grasp the world at both the macro and micro levels and gives him a powerful support to boost production and improve well-being; quickened tempo in the optimization and reorganization of the factors of production and the industrial transfers in the global context, which results in closer economic connections among countries and more favorable conditions for their mutually beneficial co-operation.

At the same time, owing to historical and immediate causes, unevenness in worldwide development has become increasingly salient, with the heavily indebted developing countries facing a worsened external environment and the gap between the South and the North further widening. New trade barriers and protectionism are on the increase, and the world's multilateral trading regime is experiencing difficulties. The consumption of energy and other natural resources has increased substantially, resulting in ecological imbalances and environmental degradation. Factors of uncertainty and instability, such as local conflicts and terrorism, pose increasing threat to world peace and development.

In a word, mankind is faced with both grave challenges and rare opportunities for development. Given the circumstances, the only right option for us to take is co-operation geared to a win-win result, and the only goal for us to endeavour towards is sustainable development.

Our own experience with development tells us that every country must go through an evolving process that today's development is the continuation of that of yesterday and the groundwork of that of tomorrow.

When a country lays down its plans, chooses its strategies, decides on its approaches and implements its measures towards its long-term goals of development, it should take into account both its present and future needs of development and address both the current concerns of the people and the interests for their long-term development.

To advance the win-win co-operation for sustainable development, we should endeavour in the following areas:

First, we should promote a healthy development of the developing countries and maintain a steady economic growth in the world. In development lies the fundamental solution to all kinds of problems in the developing countries and a basic condition for solving many problems in the world at large.

To advance win-win co-operation for sustainable development, it is essential to first ensure the development of the developing countries. The developed countries should pay greater attention to the needs of the poor countries and make real efforts to accelerate their development, thus narrowing the widening North-South gap. Without this, there can be neither win-win co-operation nor sustainable development.

As far as APEC is concerned, we should take it as a key task of the organization to promote the development of the developing members.

The developed countries should reduce and forgive the debts owed by the developing countries and provide them with more official assistance with no strings attached.

They should help the developing countries make a good use of their human resources, enhance their capacity to develop science and technology, tap their market potential and build an indigenous capacity for self-development.

They should take more vigorous steps to revamp the international economic, trade, and financial systems, roll back trade protectionism of one kind or another, and create a favorable external environment for the development of the developing countries. While North-South dialogue should be strengthened on an equal footing, South-South co-operation should be carried out on a broader scale with multiple forms of economic and technical co-operation and efforts to minimize the potential risks of economic globalization to the developing countries, thus achieving the goal of common development and prosperity.

Second, we should cultivate and act on a scientific mentality of development and strive for an all-round economic and social progress along with a comprehensive development of man. Practice shows that the concept of development adopted by a country usually has a major implication on the way it develops. Different concepts often lead to different results.

Given the conditions of modern era, we should put people on top of our priority list and strive to achieve a comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development. We should take the comprehensive development of man as our objective, upholding the fundamental interests of the people, meeting their rising material and cultural needs and ensuring that they reap the benefits of development.

We should focus on economic development as our central task, move forward economic, political and cultural development and realize both economic prosperity and overall social progress. We should promote a co-ordinated development between urban and rural areas, among different regions, between economic and social development, between domestic development and opening to the outside world and achieve a harmonious development between man and nature.

We must ensure that our economic development is achieved in proper correlation with the state of the population, natural resources and the environment, while following a scientific development path characterized by higher production output. Only in this way can we guarantee a chance for sustainable development for future generations.

Third, we should pursue economic development on the basis of resource conservation and build a circular economy. Mankind's history shows that development must not be achieved by squandering resources and destroying the environment. Acting otherwise will result in paying a heavy price, even costing the very development we sought to achieve. Therefore, development should be pursued on the basis of high technology content, good economic returns, low resource consumption level, minimum pollution of the environment and fullest play of human potential.

We should optimize the economic structure, change the way of achieving economic growth, pay closer attention to the conservation and comprehensive utilization of resources, advocate an environment-friendly way of production, life and consumption and bring about a virtuous cycle in both our ecological and socio-economic systems. We should put in place a conservation-oriented management system throughout the process of exploitation, processing, distribution and consumption of resources with a view to building a resource effective national economy and a resource effective society.

A well-protected eco-system underpins the growing productive forces and better lives for the people. On the one hand, we must respect laws of nature and plan our economic and social development according to how much nature could sustain. On the other hand, we should actively go for protecting the natural environment, minimizing pollutant discharge, increasing wastes recycling, accelerating pollution control and ecological rehabilitation, preserving bio-diversity and resolutely stopping all practices that are detrimental to nature.

Fourth, we should step up economic and technical co-operation with the other countries and foster a fair and equitable environment for competition. Lasting peace and sustainable development in the world cannot be obtained unless the fruits of economic development are shared in a just, fair and reasonable manner. Exchange of experience among countries and their mutual emulation and co-operation in finance, technology, management expertise and human resources are of major significance for greater economic growth in the world.

We should broaden the scale of international co-operation, increase market access, ease restrictions on technology export, further liberalize trade and investment and remove all kinds of trade barriers.

We should build an open and rule-based multilateral trading regime through equal-footed dialogue in the spirit of seeking common ground while putting aside differences. APEC should renew its commitment to the Bogor Goals, actively step up bilateral and regional free trade arrangements in keeping with WTO rules and APEC principles, and endeavour to accelerate economic growth in this region and increase the members' resilience to economic volatilities.

We should promote exchanges among business communities of the region, encourage our companies to explore deeper into our respective markets, find better ways for high-tech co-operation and expand mutual investment. We call for the enlargement of the basis of international economic decision-making, thereby allowing a fuller participation by the developing countries in that process and the international co-operation in general.

Friends,

Ladies and gentlemen,

China is a large developing country with a strong sense of responsibility. We are ready to contribute our share in advancing win-win co-operation for sustainable development. A sound and rapidly growing Chinese economy serves the economic development of the region and that of the world at large.

With an average annual growth rate of 9.4 per cent in the past 20-odd years of reform and opening-up, China has succeeded in meeting the basic needs for food, clothing and shelter by its population and providing, on the whole, a moderately comfortable livelihood for its over 1 billion people. China's economy right now is in good shape, though not problem-free.

Thanks to our macro-economic measures, the disruptive and unhealthy factors in the economy have been brought under effective control. In the first three quarters of this year, China's GDP grew by 9.5 per cent, its total import and export reached US$828.5 billion, and the paid-in value of FDI totalled US$48.7 billion.

We will stick to the scientific concept of development which puts people first and strives for a balanced and sustainable development, focus on economic development and keep up reform and opening up to the outside world. We will continue to improve our market economic structure, step up economic and industrial restructuring, accelerate scientific and technological innovation and mobilize still greater material and intellectual resources from across society to push forward China's economic development.

A more prosperous China is destined to offer more business opportunities to the rest of the world. China now represents an export market of over US$500 billion a year, and is committed to continued opening up and more active participation in economic globalization. It will take part in international economic and technological co-operation and competition with still greater depth, in still more areas, and at still higher levels.

China's WTO accession has resulted in further improvement in its investment environment. We will keep our market open by reducing access restrictions, improving our laws and regulations on foreign investment and making more services and trade available to foreign investors.

We will create new ways of attracting foreign investment, and push for greater reform in government administrative system by building a predictable and more transparent management system for sectors open to foreign investment.

We will protect still more effectively the intellectual property rights of overseas investors and their enterprises in China and provide a better environment and more favorable terms to both foreign investment in China and China's foreign trade and economic co-operation with the other countries.

The business communities, as a major proponent and participant of economic activities in the Asia-Pacific region, are playing a crucial role in promoting both TILF( Trade and Investment Liberalization and Facilitation) and Ecotech and bringing about an all-round development in the region. For Ecotech to go deeper, it is necessary to give full expression to the concerns and demands of the business communities.

I believe that you, as business leaders, will take advantage of your influence to galvanize greater business involvement in regional economic co-operation, display and spread entrepreneurship, help build a more equitable society, and make greater contribution to sustainable development in the region and the world at large.

Friends,

Ladies and gentlemen,

We all live on one and the same planet we call earth. World peace, common development, win-win co-operation and sustainable development, these are shared aspirations of the people of all lands. Let us join hands, work to build mutual trust, increase exchanges for co-operation, and strive for a balanced, healthy and sustained economic development throughout the world.