China pledged today to wean itself away from export-driven growth as Asian-Pacific business and government leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the open trade and measured stimulus they say is necessary to assure a global economic recovery, according to AP. President Hu Jintao said China is doing what it can to fire up demand at home so that the world"s third-largest economy is less reliant on exports. «Our focus in countering the crisis is to expand domestic demand, especially consumer demand,» Hu said in a speech on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which culminates this weekend with meetings of Pacific Rim leaders, including President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. China, which saw 8.9 percent growth in the last quarter, will continue with reforms aimed at improving living standards and reducing social burdens such as educational fees and health care that inhibit spending by frugal Chinese consumers, Hu said. Such moves by China and other developing economies are seen as crucial for ensuring a sustained global recovery, given the weakness of the U.S. consumer market. Leaders of 21 APEC member economies have mainly focused this year on strategies for building on the nascent recovery from the biggest economic crisis since the 1930s. Obama is expected to seek to counter the strengthening conviction that U.S. influence is declining as China"s grows, given the American preoccupation with pressing domestic and foreign policy issues such as Iraq, Iran"s nuclear program and the war in Afghanistan. Singapore"s elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew, a keen analyst of world affairs, said it is not Washington"s military might but trade relations that will impress Asia.
