Visiting President Hu Jintao on Friday called for increasing aid to developing countries to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, and promised China would remain a staunch force in upholding world peace.

He made the remarks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) CEO Summit, which is held under the theme of "Towards One Community: Creating New Opportunities for Shared Development."

"We should increase official development assistance with no strings attached to developing countries, intensify economic and technical co-operation in various forms and help them in human resources development, thus helping to foster an enabling external environment for their development," Hu said.

Increasing economic globalization and regional integration has brought countries closer together, but imbalance in development remains a major problem, he said.

"Some developing countries have not gained their fair share of benefits from economic globalization," Hu said, noting that in recent years there has been an increase in non-traditional security threats including terrorist activities, natural disasters and outbreaks of major communicable diseases.

He called for increased North-South co-operation and South-South co-operation to narrow the development gap and promote common development.

China's development goes hand in hand with the development of the Asia-Pacific and the world, and its opening up and development is of great importance to peace and development, Hu said.

From 1978 to 2005, China's GDP increased from US$147.3 billion to US$2.235 trillion, registering an average annual growth of 9.6 per cent. In the same period, China's trade increased from US$20.6 billion to US$1.422 trillion, growing by 16 per cent annually.

"We will further deepen the reform of foreign-related economic sectors, accelerate the transformation pattern of trade growth and improve trade structure to ensure balanced growth of import and export," he said. "We will actively introduce foreign investment, open the service sectors wider, enhance intellectual property rights protection and raise China's overall level of openness."

Since China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, China's import has totalled US$2.4 trillion, and foreign investors in China repatriated US$58 billion in profit.

Statistics from the World Bank show that since 2001, China on average contributed to 13 per cent of the world's economic growth, according to Hu.

China calls for building a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity, and Hu said harmony is a "defining value of the Chinese civilization."

He encouraged business leaders to give more priority to exploring business opportunities and expanding market share in developing countries.

But he also said China faces major problems and challenges, including persistent structural imbalance and inefficient modes of economic growth.

"To resolve these pressing issues, we are pursuing a scientific outlook on development which puts people first and aims at comprehensive, co-ordinated and sustainable development," said Hu, who put forward four goals:

Speed up economic restructuring and transformation of the pattern of economic growth;

Accelerate the building of new Socialist rural villages to break down the barriers between urban and rural areas;

Promote balanced regional development. More support will be given to less developed and poorer regions;

And build a harmonious society.

"The key message from Hu's speech is the development of peace," said Kelvin Lee, managing director of Vina Capital, a Viet Nam-based investment bank.

"Hu told business leaders from Asia-Pacific that we are in one big family and we must work together," Lee told China Daily after the speech. He added that the peaceful rise of China will bring benefits to the region and the world.

Lee appreciated Hu's proposal to increase official aid to developing countries.

"After years of efforts to make its economy more prosperous, China is starting to play a bigger role in providing help to other countries, which is a significant step in narrowing the development gap," he noted.

Source: China Daily