BOSTON, United States, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Li Yuanchao gave a speech Friday at Harvard University, highlighting the institutional mechanisms that are helping China tackle the global financial crisis.

    In a speech entitled "Coping with the Crisis -- China's Benign Interactions with the World," Li, head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, gave a Pisgah view of how China has responded to the unusual crisis.

    "It is because of its appropriate institutional mechanisms that China has been able to achieve initial success in combating the crisis and to realize a relatively early recovery," Li, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, argued.

    China's socialist market economy provided an efficient stabilizing mechanism as the government initiated a series of fiscal, monetary, land, industrial, investment and other policies in a bid to expand domestic demand after the onset of the crisis, he explained.

    Besides, continuing reform and opening up served as catalysts for China's development.

    Specifically, China had deepened reforms in income distribution, energy and resource pricing regimes and private sector development. It also encouraged service outsourcing and establishment of free-trade areas.

    "All these measures have given strong impetus to development across the country," he said.

    Li also underscored the special role of the CPC in tackling the crisis, saying that "it is the way that the Communist Party of China works (that) made it possible to pool resources from all sectors for accomplishing major undertakings."

    Meanwhile, key enterprises in the public sector shouldered great social responsibilities by pledging not to sack employees, a move that helped maintain economic stability.

    Noting that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 31st year into reform and opening up, Li said China had engaged itself with the rest of the world "in such profound interactions as never seen in its history."

    "China's development is getting all the more integrated with that of the world and has become a constructive part in the world's development," he told his audience at Harvard Kennedy School.

    "China will continue to make contributions to the world by developing in a scientific, peaceful and harmonious way," he added.

    He also called for healthy interaction between China and the United States as it "will not only help the world cast off the shadow of the economic crisis, but contribute to world peace and stability."

    Moreover, Li met with Harvard University President Drew Faust on Friday and held discussions with experts at Harvard Kennedy School.

    Boston is the third stop during Li's week- long trip to the United States. He also visited San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The last stop on his itinerary is New York.