In the past decade, China has maintained a strong economic growth and economies in the Asia-Pacific region have benefited a lot from China's economic growth and the country's steady integration into the regional and global economy, he noted.

Unlike the Great Depression in the 1930s, the current financial crisis would not lead to similar dire consequences thanks to the robust growth and enormous economic potential in emerging economies like China and India, Buckle said.

Still, these countries would have to reform their economic policies to be more resilient to market shocks, he said.

The APEC forum provides a great opportunity for the member economies to share experience in addressing such grave challenges as a sharp drop in global demand and investment, he said.

The Economic Committee of the APEC Secretariat will release its annual economic policy report on Thursday ahead of the APEC summit that begins Saturday.

The 2008 APEC Economic Policy Report will explain how a sound competition policy, based on diverse economic, institutional and legal conditions of each economy, can improve economic performance, he said.

Established in 1989, APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. Enditem

Hu said he was delighted to see Castro again. The comrades of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China "have all cared about your health and I brought their sincere greetings to you," he said.

"I see in person that you have recovered and have been energetic so I feel very pleased," he told Castro.

Castro extended a warm welcome to Hu for his second state visit to Cuba. "We are old friends. I am happy to see that you are as energetic as when I met you last time," he said.

Hu said that as the founder of the Cuban socialist revolution and construction, Castro is dearly adored by the Cuban people. During the past half century, Castro led the heroic Cuban people in their fearless struggle to safeguard state sovereignty and adhere to the path of socialism, thus winning respect from people worldwide, including the Chinese people.

Hu said that Castro has followed closely his country's development, showed great concern about people's life and dedicated himself to profound reflections of major strategic issues, such as international affairs and national development.

"Your thoughts and experience will surely guide the Cuban people to continue their march on the road of socialist construction," he said.

On Sino-Cuban relations, Hu said relations between the two countries have withstood the changes of international situation thanks to the joint efforts to forge and nurture their bilateral ties by generations of Chinese leaders, including Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, and Castro and other Cuban leaders.

"The brotherly friendship between our two countries and two parties has been deeply rooted in the hearts of our two peoples," he said.

"The Chinese people will never forget that thanks to your concern and effort that Cuba became the first Latin American nation to forge diplomatic ties with China 48 years ago," he said.

Thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides, the Sino-Cuban mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation in all areas have been expanding continuously, and bilateral ties have entered a new era of all-round development, said Hu.

"Our two nations, parties and peoples have become reliable friends and brothers who share weal and woe," he said.

"What affected me and other Chinese leaders most is that you always pay close attention to China's development and remain committed to promoting friendly cooperation between our two countries," Hu added.

Hu noted that Castro ordered to send a medical team to China immediately after the devastating earthquake in Wenchuan, southwest China's Sichuan province on May 12.

The Cuban leader also made constant phone calls to offer instructions on the team's work in China, Hu added.

Moreover, in his article entitled China's Victory, Castro has showed his firm support for China on such major issues as Taiwan, Tibet and the Olympic Games in Beijing, the Chinese president said.

The Cuban leader has also showed great concern about the Chinese students studying in Cuba and the progress of a joint ophthalmic hospital. "The Chinese people, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government will for ever remember all these," he said.

Castro expressed appreciation of China's relief and reconstruction efforts following the Wenchuan earthquake and other natural disasters. He once again congratulated China on its successful hosting of the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympics as well as the success of the Shenzhou-7 manned space mission.

Hu said that the Chinese government will always adhere to the principle of long-term friendship between China and Cuba. The Chinese people will, as always, support the just struggle of the Cuban people in safeguarding state sovereignty and opposing outside interference.

China will continue to provide assistance for Cuba within its capacity, and will firmly support the country's socialist cause, he said.

"We will work with the Cuban people to continuously push forward the development of friendship between China and Cuba," he added.

Castro said he and other Cuban comrades have followed closely "everything that happened in China."

"China has a large population and a culture of long standing and the Chinese people are known for their diligence," he said, adding that the Chinese people "have surmounted all manner of unimaginable difficulties and accomplished great achievements in construction."

"As the current international financial crisis is spreading, the Chinese economy has kept a sound momentum for development, demonstrating that China is the most prepared country," he said.

China is the most dynamic nation in the world and "no force can stop it from forging ahead," he said.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the two countries' economic development and major international and regional issues, including the international financial crisis and the world economy.

Before the conclusion of the meeting, Hu again expressed his heartfelt wish for Castro's good health. Castro, in return, expressed his gratitude.

Cuba is the third leg of Hu's five-nation trip. He has attended a Group of 20 summit on the financial crisis in Washington and visited Costa Rica.

He will also visit Peru and Greece, and attend the Economic Leaders' Informal Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in the Peruvian capital of Lima.

Speaking after the meeting, President Calderon said, "President Yudhoyono's visit is a great honor for the people of Mexico and at the same time marks a new stage of the 55th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between Indonesia and Mexico."

He said in their bilateral meeting, several cooperation agreements had been reached to strengthen intensive political dialog until a high level meeting.

The two presidents on the occasion also agreed to step up economic cooperation, especially in the field of trade and investment; to increase the two countries' participation in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to expand their economic ties; to boost energy cooperation between PT Pertamina and Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex); and to boost cooperation in culture, development and trade between the two countries.

President Calderon said Yudhoyono's visit to Mexico would pave the way for development of better bilateral relations in the future, and added that Mexico was keenly interested in increasing political and economic cooperation with Indonesia at higher levels.

Meanwhile, President Yudhoyono said the two countries had great potentials to cooperate in the economic field, and therefore an effective framework was needed to realize concrete relations.

"Mexico has a strong economy and thus its domestic market is strong. Indonesia's economy also continues to grow, so trade and investment cooperation between the two countries should be stepped up," Yudhoyono said.

He added that energy cooperation between the two countries should be intensified in order to maintain supply and demand in oil and gas to keep their prices stable.

Yudhoyono also invited his Mexican counterpart to visit Indonesia on the sidelines of an APEC summit in Singapore next year.

The idea of a Korea-MERCOSUR FTA was first floated during former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's visit to Brazil in 2004. MERCOSUR represents a total population of 190 million living in an area larger than the total surface of the European continent.

Lee, who arrived here earlier on Monday after attending the Group of 20 summit in the U.S., also mentioned the need to deepen economic and industrial cooperation between South Korea and Brazil.

"While in Brazil, I will establish a Korea-Brazil industrial cooperation committee to promote fusion cooperation and corporate investments between the two countries. Through the committee, both sides will also push to set up bilateral industrial cooperation fund and center."

The president picked three broad areas -- mineral resources and plant business; oil development and shipbuilding; and biofuel, auto and green industry -- as targets for the Korean-Brazilian fusion cooperation.

"The South Korean and Brazilian economies can complement each other. Their closer cooperation would create enormous synergies," said the president. "The flex-fuel vehicles, for instance, which are powered by Brazilian bio-ethanol, can be another promising area for bilateral cooperation."

In this regard, Lee's aides explained that the combination of Brazil's abundant resources, including iron ore and uranium, and South Korea's competitiveness in plant industries, such as electric power, steel and petrochemicals, would generate strong synergistic effects.

Lee will fly to Brasilia, the capital city, on Tuesday. He will hold summit talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday for discussions on expanding bilateral cooperation in the fields of resources, infrastructure expansion and agriculture, according to presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.

Measures to deepen bilateral cooperation in overcoming the global financial crisis will also be on the agenda, said the spokesman.

At the G-20 summit, Korea and Brazil were selected together with Britain as a troika of moderator countries to play a leading role in preparing policy agendas for the next G-20 summit slated for April in London.

Following his Brazilian trip, President Lee plans to visit the Peruvian capital of Lima for a state visit and to attend the annual APEC summit from Thursday to Sunday.

(Yonhap)