MANILA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Friday said Chinese entrepreneurs have played an important role to cushion the impacts of global financial crisis and help bring the world out from recession.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo speaks at the the opening ceremony of the tenth World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention in Manila, capital of Philippines, Nov. 20, 2009. The tenth World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention started here Friday. More than 1,000 businessmen from China and 2,000 businessmen with Chinese origin are present for a two-day forum which aims to enhance cooperation among Chinese entrepreneurs. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Speaking to 3,000 businessmen gathering here for the biennial World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention, Arroyo said the Philippines and other economies with a very big Chinese community weathered the crisis with greater resilience and the active counter-crisis measures adopted, Chinese entrepreneurs is one reason why the world will bounce back from the recession sooner.

    "We are on a solid comeback," Arroyo said, adding that things could have been worse if her government did not take the "unpopular but necessary" economic and fiscal reforms several years ago. These reforms, Arroyo said, were strongly supported by the country's influential Chinese business community.

    Arroyo said every entrepreneur has experienced the devastation of the setbacks in the world economy and her government's commitment is to learn from the mistakes to make sure the crisis would never happen again.

    Arroyo said the presence of 3,000 Chinese entrepreneurs from 20nations and regions shows the vitality and promise of a strong world business community that can help breathe new life into the world's economy.

    Since its birth in 1991, the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention has served as a leading forum for Chinese businessmen around the world. With the theme "World Prosperity through Chinese Entrepreneurship," this year's conference focuses on cooperation to get through the financial crisis and to explore ways for sustainable growth of the private sector.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis