by Xinhua writer Wu Liming

Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo called on Wednesday here for concerted efforts among five leading developing countries (G5) to tackle various global challenges.

On behalf of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Dai addressed the G5 leaders' meeting, expounding China's position on how the G5 unite to address major international issues as well as proposals.

Dai, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and President of South Africa Jacob Zuma, exchanged views on various issues like tackling global financial crisis, regulation of global financial system, climate change and non-traditional security threats.

The G5 leaders' meeting was aimed to strike a common position for the outreach session of the G8 Summit, to be held later on Thursday.

In his speech, Dai said the global financial crisis was still deepening, which has exerted severe negative impact on the world economy and people's life, adding that the developing countries fall the biggest victims to the international financial crisis as they are weak in economic foundation as well as in their capacity of self-healing.

If such trend were not reversed, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals would not be achieved in due time, and the achievements made by the countries over the past years would fade away, Dai warned.

The state councilor said boosting economy is the basis and precondition to resolving all the relevant problems, and the five leading developing countries should unite to alleviate the damage of the global financial crisis.

Dai urged the G5 countries to exert more efforts in the following four aspects:

-- To push the international community to respect developing countries' choice of economic development models and ensure them adequate room for development policy;

-- To push the reform of international economic, financial and trade system and increase developing countries' voice, representativeness and role in decision-making in this aspect;

-- To push the developed countries to implement their promise on increasing assistance, debt redemption, market opening and technology transfer and other consensus reached between the developed countries and the developing countries;

-- To push the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and regional development banks to initiate new assistance measures to help the developing countries ensure stability of financial system, boost economic development and enhance their capacity of self-healing.

The Chinese state councilor called for more cooperation among the G5 countries to resolve international challenges.

Dai listed four aspects for further cooperation and coordination among the G5.

First, Dai said the G5 should join hands to cope with the international financial crisis.

Secondly, Dai proposed that the G5 countries make join efforts to enhance the regulation of global financial system.

Thirdly, he urged the G5 countries to actively address the challenges of climate change.

Fourthly, he urged the G5 countries to cooperate on addressing non-traditional security threats.

The state councilor also reiterated the importance of the unity of the G5, calling for continuing cooperation on a wide range of global issues.

During the meeting, four other leaders also spoke out, agreeing on joint efforts to address global challenges, according to Chinese diplomats.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said the emerging economies should unite and strike consensus so as to help developing and less-developed countries better resolve the challenges of climate change and food security.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the G5 leaders' meeting is an important platform on addressing economic and financial problems and the G5 should make full play of the meeting to push the international community at large to better address the global financial crisis.

He called for tightening monitoring and regulation of international financial system and giving up trade protectionism, so as to drag the world economy out of crisis as soon as possible.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the meeting that the consensus reached at the G20 Summit in London should be implemented.

The global financial crisis is closely relevant with food crisis and energy crisis, said the prime minister, who called for worldwide cooperation to address the challenges that run across the globe.

Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa, said the global financial crisis has brought more severe damage to the less-developed countries, citing Africa as the biggest victim.

Zuma warned that the crisis has crippled the social and economic development of his continent, and it has also put under shadow the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

The president called for more worldwide measures resolving the crisis, eliminating trade protectionism, finalizing the Doha talks as soon as possible and increasing assistance to the developing and less-developed countries.

Source: Xinhua