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Chinese PM sees 'light at end of tunnel' of global crisis
2009-02-02
LONDON (AFP) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed Monday to join urgent and coordinated action to avert a global economic disaster, insisting that there is "light at the end of the tunnel." After talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the last leg of a five-nation European trip, he said China's recovery will be crucial to reversing the global downturn. "This financial crisis is a global one. No single country can remain immune and address this in isolation. We are sitting in the same boat and we need to all work together to overcome the difficulties," Wen said. But he said: "There is light at the end of the tunnel... I am calling for confidence, cooperation and responsibility, I've been calling for that all along because if we do that we can save the world." Wen added that if China could "maintain" its economic growth, "it will be the biggest contribution to the whole world in the face of the financial crisis." Brown, meanwhile, said he wants to double British exports to China within 18 months -- from five billion pounds (5.5 billion euros, 7.0 billion dollars) last year to 10 billion pounds by 2010. "We know from previous downturns that a retreat to narrow, short-term protectionist policies would only serve to deepen the global recession and we must not and will not allow that to happen again," said Brown. Wen's first trip to Britain since 2006 marks the end of a high-profile visit to Europe that has taken him to Germany, Spain, the EU headquarters in Brussels and the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland. As well as boosting trade ties, Wen's trip also aims to mend relations with European leaders strained over the issue of Tibet. China is particularly sensitive about Tibet questions ahead of the 50th anniversary of the March 1959 uprising in that led to the escape of Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama into exile. Security has been tight in Tibet's capital Lhasa since riots erupted in the city on March 14 last year against Chinese rule, and then spread to neighbouring Tibetan-inhabited provinces. The issue again resurfaced as some 50 pro-Tibetan and 100 pro-Chinese demonstrators gathered outside Brown's Downing Street office for rival protests to coincide with Wen's talks with Brown. Five pro-Tibetan protesters were arrested on Sunday. Brown made a brief diplomatic reference to Tibet at their joint press conference. "Premier Wen has overseen improvements in social and economic rights in China which have lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty over the last three decades," he said. "But the UK will continue through our regular dialogue to seek rapid progress towards all international human rights standards, and I urged further dialogue on the Chinese government to resolve the underlying issues in Tibet." Brown and Wen also discussed the meeting in London later this year of the Group of 20 major industrialised and emerging powers. The April summit will be dominated by the financial crisis and Brown has argued that Beijing's increasing power -- it is now the third-biggest economy in the world -- makes it a "vital" partner in restoring economic stability. In Davos, Wen backed the British leader's call for greater cooperation and against a retreat into protectionism in response to the downturn. But Wen was outspoken about the role of western nations in the crisis, blaming "inappropriate macroeconomic policies of some economies" and "prolonged low savings and high consumption." Speaking alongside Brown, Wen later lamented how some bankers had "been using excessive leverage to pursue exorbitant profit." "When bubbles burst, the world is exposed to disaster." "Such hard lessons need to be learned. From this moment on we need to enhance transparency of financial regulations."
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