MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

China calls on corporations to help reduce poverty

Multinational corporations should invest in developing countries to help reduce the gap between rich and poor nations, said Chinese president Hu Jintao on Friday during the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting in Hanoi.

"You are the leaders in business in the Asia-Pacific region and with that experience you should play a leading role in facilitating technical and economic cooperation to help develop our region" said Hu Jintao addressing a group of multinational corporations' top managers meeting in the framework of the APEC forum.

The Chinese leader's conference was one of the many events taking place before the formal summit over the weekend that has convened representatives from APEC's 21 member countries.

"You corporations, generating investment, must support developing nations to grow", added Hu Jintao who also called on governments to promote aid "with no strings or conditionings" to poor countries.

"Before us is the great challenge of reducing the gap between rich and poor countries and to promote joint development", said Hu Jintao who insisted APEC "has a brilliant future", but also asked regional economies to expand wealth "among all nations".

"We should not loose sight of the fact that while APEC enjoys strong economic growth, inequality remains as a main obstacle", he added.

The 21 leaders' summit includes US President George Bush and Russian president Vladimir Putin who is scheduled to arrive in Vietnam early Saturday.