"Thanks to the concerted efforts of the G20 and the entire international community, the world economy is slowly recovering," Hu said in a speech entitled "Build on Achievements and Promote development."

"However, total demand remains insufficient in the absence of new sources of growth. Countries differ in policy objectives, making macroeconomic policy coordination even more difficult and global recovery even more fragile and uneven," he said.

The situation is a manifestation that the deep-seated impact of the international financial crisis is still reverberating, he added.

"We must adopt an attitude responsible to history and the future, bear in mind the common interests of mankind, build on what we have already achieved and continue to work in concert for strong, sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy."

Hu presented a four-point proposal to that end.

First, the world community should improve the Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth and promote cooperative development, Hu said.

"Strong, sustainable and balanced economic growth is of great significance to the whole world." "We should stick to the country-led principle, take into full account the different national circumstances and development stages of various members, and appreciate and respect each country's independent choice of development path and policies."

The assessment criteria should be further improved, he said.

"Since strong growth, sustainable growth and balanced growth are equally important, we must give them equal attention and push forward growth in a comprehensive way in the formulation and implementation of assessment criteria," he said.

"We need to improve the framework so that the framework can shift its focus from emergency response to long-term governance and contribute to more effective medium- to long-term global policy coordination," Hu said.

"We should encourage various economies to draw on each other's strengths for mutually beneficial growth."

Second, the world community should champion open trade and promote coordinated development, Hu emphasized.

"We must be firmly committed to free trade, to the consensus reached at previous G20 summits, and to the effort of opposing all forms of protectionism and removing existing trade protectionist measures," he said.

"We should substantially reduce trade and investment barriers, broaden common interests, properly handle frictions and differences through dialogue on an equal footing, lift unreasonable restrictions on high-tech exports and jointly foster a free, open, equitable and just global trading environment."

"We should honor out commitments and work for comprehensive and balanced outcomes at the Doha Round negotiations in order to attain the goals of the development round at an early date and establish an open and free global trading system," he added.

Third, the world community should reform the financial system and promote stable development, Hu said.

"We should continue to push for fair and merit-based selection of the management of international financial institutions, and enable more people from developing countries to take up mid-level and senior management positions," he said.

"We should support the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its effort to strengthen the monitoring and early warning of capital flows... and address the systemic and fundamental problems in the international financial system."

He also asked to improve the international monetary system and build an international reserve currency system with stable value, rule-based issuance and manageable supply.

"The major reserve currency issuing economies should adopt responsible policies, maintain relative stability of exchange rates and help enhance the resilience of emerging market economies and developing countries against financial risks, thus easing and gradually removing the fundamental problems behind foreign exchange liquidity risks," he said.

Fourth, the world community should narrow the development gap and promote balanced development, the Chinese president stressed.

"We must endeavor to build a new and more equal and balanced global partnership and encourage developed and developing countries to have more mutual understanding and closer coordination rather than follow the old path of trading accusations and public confrontation," he said.

G20 members, he added, should pay attention to the spillover effect of their macroeconomic policies, expand common interests and embrace "a new development concept that promotes growth through development and overcomes risks through cooperation."

Underscoring the need to address the issue of development "from a macro and strategic perspective," the president said the group should advocate new ways of development and reduce artificial barriers to technology transfer in order to create conditions for developing countries to achieve green and sustainable development at an early date.

On the upcoming high-level climate change conference in the Mexican city of Cancun, Hu said G20 members should work together to ensure that the conference will continue to follow the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities.

The Cancun conference should pay more attention to the voice of developing countries and seek positive outcomes by building on the achievements reached during the last round of talks in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.

In his address, Hu also briefed his colleagues on the development of China, which has seen over 200 million people lifted from absolute poverty during the past 30 years.

Along with its stride toward a moderately prosperous society, China has also offered sincere and selfless assistance to fellow developing countries as its ability permits, and has actively promoted South-South cooperation, said the president.

In the next five years, Hu said, China will stay committed to scientific development, focus on the transformation of the economic development pattern at a faster pace, further improve people's livelihood, and strive for sustained, stable and fast economic development and social harmony and stability.

"All in all, we will strive for comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development and make new contributions to world economic development," he said.

Hu asked his colleagues to show greater courage and wisdom and work hand-in-hand for the all-round development of the world and a better future for mankind.

At the first plenary session of this G20 summit, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak stressed the significance of the agreements reached at the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Gyeongju, which helped ease global tensions with regard to currency issues and trade imbalances.

He also talked about the importance of following the Mutual Assessment Process (MAP) to avoid future crises and promote strong sustainable growth.

The summit officially started on Thursday evening when President Lee hosted a grand welcome reception and a working dinner for leaders of the world's 20 most important economies.

The summit focuses on the world economic situation, a framework for strong, sustainable and balanced increase, the reform of the international financial institutions, international financial supervision, global financial safety network, development and trade.

The G20 was established in 1999 to bring together strategically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy.

It groups Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States, and the European Union (EU).

Together, the G20 members represent around 90 percent of global gross national product, 80 percent of world trade (including internal trade among EU members), and two-thirds of the world's population.