Hu meets Singaporean Prime Minister

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (R) meets Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd L) during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing October 23, 2008. [Agencies]

In the meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Hu congratulated Lee on the free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Singapore signed earlier Thursday morning, quoting the pact signals "the economic ties between the two countries had entered a new stage".

He said China attached great importance to Sino-Singaporean relations since the two countries established diplomatic ties 18 years ago, and is willing to deepen mutually-benefiting cooperation between the two sides and thus contribute to the stability and development of Asia.

He said in face of the complicated global financial situation, all nations in the world should coordinate with each other in policy making and bridge over the difficulties with confidence.

He pledged that China will make concerted efforts with the international community to maintain global financial and economic stability with a responsible attitude, and to sustain its domestic financial and economic stability by transforming the economic growth pattern, restructuring the economy, and attaching more importance to agriculture.

Lee Hsien Loong said the newly signed FTA pact would further improve the bilateral ties between the two countries, and push forward regional cooperation in East Asia.

He said the overall situation of the Asian economy is still good, but urged Asian countries to strengthen cooperation in the backdrop of the global financial crisis and take measures to restore confidence in the financial market to contribute to global financial stability.