G20 leaders meet in London:

China’s Hu urges reforms

CHINA: Chinese President Hu Jintao called for reform of the world financial system and efforts against trade protectionism, before leaving Wednesday for the G20 economic summit in London, state press reported.

“The international financial system should undergo necessary reforms in an all-round, balanced, gradual and effective manner to prevent a similar crisis in the future,” Xinhua news agency quoted Hu as saying. China has repeatedly called for reform of the global financial system, which it sees as dominated by developed countries, and has urged that developing nations be given a greater say.

In his comments to Xinhua on Tuesday, Hu said China would work with others attending the summit of leaders from the Group of 20 industrialised and developing nations to help the meeting yield “positive and practical” results.

China has declined to say what specific proposals it might bring to Thursday’s summit in London, which will look at how to deal with the global economic crisis.

People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan called recently for the US dollar — the global reserve currency since World War II — to be replaced with a different standard run by the International Monetary Fund. BEIJING, Wednesday,

AFP