Special Report: President Hu Attends G20 London Summit 

    LONDON, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao addressed the Group of 20 summit and met with leaders from Australia, Japan, Brazil and Britain on the sidelines of the meeting here Thursday.

    The most pressing task in countering the global financial crisis is to restore global economic growth and prevent a serious recession, Hu said at the second G20 financial summit.

    The financial crisis is "still spreading and deepening," and its impact on the global real economy is "becoming more and more evident," he said.

    "The most pressing task now is to make every effort to restore global economic growth and prevent a serious recession," he said.

    He urged to oppose trade protectionism.

    "Protectionism was prevalent during the Great Depression in the1920s and 1930s, but it only led to grave consequences. Lessons of history must be learnt," Hu said, adding that no country should resort to protectionism under the excuse of stimulating the economy.

    "We should jointly oppose those discriminatory practices against foreign workers under the excuse of protecting domestic jobs," the president said.

    "We should work together to oppose trade protectionism in all manifestations and reject attempts to raise the market access threshold under various excuses and all forms of investment protectionism that harm the interests of other countries," he said.

    He called on the international community to join hands to tide over the current global financial crisis.

    "We have the enabling conditions to tackle the financial crisis," Hu noted, saying that the world economy is "on a solid material and technological footing."

    Hu described the G20 as an important and effective platform for concerted international efforts to counter the economic and financial crisis.

    The Chinese president on Thursday met with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd after the second G20 financial summit ended.

    The two leaders discussed bilateral relations and ways to implement the agreement reached at the London summit.

    Hu said that in recent years the development of Sino-Australian relations has been gaining momentum in an all-around way. Both sides have maintained frequent exchanges of high-level visits and deepened mutual political trust.

    New achievements have been made in cooperation in energy, resource, environmental protection, education and culture, Hu said, adding that both countries have also enhanced exchanges and coordination in international and regional affairs.

    On the sidelines of the G20 meeting, the Chinese president met with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso to discuss ties between the two Asian neighbors and major world and regional issues.

    During his meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Hu said China will continue to strengthen cooperation with Brazil to fight the current international financial crisis.

    The Chinese president said that the Sino-Brazilian relations have got off to a good start thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, and breakthroughs in cooperation have been made in such areas as oil, infrastructure construction and finance.

    He said China will work with Brazil to seize the opportunities, continue to implement the bilateral consensus, and give priorities to the following three aspects in promoting the strategic partnership with Brazil.

    First, both sides should soundly carry out high-level exchanges. The Chinese side welcomes Lula to pay a state visit to China again next month, Hu said.

    Second, both sides should make efforts to push forward trade and economic cooperation, which is of great significance in addressing the current financial crisis, said the president.

    Third, the two countries should conduct closer multilateral cooperation, Hu said.

    He said China and Brazil have conducted close cooperation at the financial summits both in Washington last year and in London this time, making important efforts to promote reforms of the international financial system and secure a bigger say for developing countries in the decision-making process in international economic and financial affairs.

    "China will continue to strengthen cooperation with Brazil in this regard," said Hu.

    Lula said China has made major contributions to the success of this financial summit.

    He said the two countries should expand bilateral economic and trade cooperation and push for an early recovery of the world economy.

    Hu also met with Britain's Prince Charles on Thursday and exchanged views with him on the protection of ancient architecture and rainforest.