Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

I wish to begin by extending warm congratulations on the opening of the Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and sincere welcome to all the colleagues and guests present.

The past few months have been truly eventful for the Chinese people. We withstood the severe test of the devastating Wenchuan earthquake and shared with the rest of the international community the joy brought by the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. We received sincere help and strong support from the international community, particularly from Asian and European countries, during this period. On behalf of the Chinese Government and people, I would like to express heartfelt thanks to you.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The recent financial crisis triggered by the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis has caused shockwaves in the international financial markets and is having a serious impact on economic development and people's livelihood across the world. This has aroused the concern of governments and people of all countries. In the face of this global challenge, the international community should enhance policy coordination, strengthen cooperation and make a common response. At this crucial moment, confidence is more important than anything else. Only with strong confidence and concerted efforts can we weather the crisis.

China appreciates and supports the positive measures taken by relevant countries in response to the financial crisis and hopes they will produce the desired results soon. China, on its part, has made active efforts to the best of its ability. We have adopted a range of important measures, including those on maintaining the stability of our domestic financial system, increasing liquidity in the financial markets and institutions, enhancing coordination and cooperation with other countries on macroeconomic policies and so on. We will continue to work with the rest of the international community with a sense of responsibility to ensure international financial and economic stability.

Since the beginning of this year, China has taken robust measures to address the complex changes in the global economic environment and the grave challenges from nature. We have maintained relatively fast economic growth and steady development of the financial sector. The fundamentals of the Chinese economy have not changed. On the other hand, however, the global financial crisis has noticeably increased the uncertainties and factors for instability in China's economic development. We are now confronted with many difficulties and challenges in our economic endeavor. China is a developing country with 1.3 billion people, and the Chinese economy is increasingly interconnected with the global economy. China's sound economic growth is in itself a major contribution to global financial stability and economic growth. That is why we must first and foremost run our own affairs well. In the light of the changing domestic and international economic situation, we will make our macroeconomic regulation measures more proactive, focused and effective, and make timely adjustments to our policies. We will vigorously expand domestic demand, especially consumer demand, maintain economic and financial stability and stability of the capital market, and continue to promote sound and fast economic and social development.