Former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry M. Paulson was sworn in as the United States treasury secretary on Monday, vowing that the United States will not retreat from the world economy.

"It is critical for the United States to remain actively engaged with our economic partners," Paulson said at the swearing- in ceremony in Treasury's ornate Cash Room.

"We must always remember that the strength of the U.S. economy is linked to the strength of the global economy," he said. "If we retreat from the global stage, the void is likely to be filled by those who do not share our commitment to economic reform."

President George Bush, who attended the swearing-in ceremony, praised that Paulson would serve as his "leading policy adviser" and the administration's top economic spokesman.

"You are getting someone you can work with and respect," Bush said, adding that Paulson's years as chief of Goldman Sachs had given him "an intimate knowledge" of global financial markets and how to keep the economy growing.

"He will work to keep this economy of ours competitive and growing, and he will work to ensure fair treatment for America's goods and services across the world," said Bush.

Paulson, 60, was nominated in May to replace former Treasury Secretary John Snow, who resigned on June 29. Deputy Secretary Robert Kimmitt then served as acting secretary in the interim.

"I am 100 percent committed to building on these past achievements and to doing my best to ensure that our economy remains a model of strength, flexibility, and openness," said Paulson in the first speech as the top U.S. administration economic official.

"My predecessors here have helped to build an economy and a financial system that are the envy of the modern world," he said.

A number of Bush administration Cabinet officials, and Paulson's family members and friends attended the ceremony, as did several lawmakers and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Source: Xinhua