Between January and September this year, China's gross domestic product grew by 9.9 percent and the three major demands of investment, consumption and export all grew by over 20 percent.

However, since September, with the spread and development of the financial crisis, China's economic development have run into more obvious difficulties, Hu said.

The growth rate of China's export has begun to decline and industrial production and corporate profits have been adversely affected to varying degrees, he added.

"In view of this and in order to boost economic development, the Chinese government has strengthened macroeconomic regulation in a timely way and decided to follow a proactive fiscal policy and a moderately easy monetary policy," the president said.

China has lowered the required reserve ratio, cut the deposit and lending rates and eased the corporate tax burdens, he added.

China has recently adopted even stronger measures to generate greater domestic demand, Hu said.

He said the central government has decided to invest an additional 100 billion yuan (14.6 billion U.S. dollars) this year to accelerate projects related to people's livelihood, infrastructure, the eco-environment and post-disaster reconstruction.

This is expected to generate a total of 400 billion yuan (58.4 billion dollars) of investment nationwide, he noted, adding that between the fourth quarter this year and the end of 2010, investment in these projects alone will reach nearly 4 trillion yuan (584 billion dollars).

Implementation of these measures will give a strong impetus to China's economic development, Hu said.

Hu arrived in Lima Wednesday for a state visit to Peru and for the Economic Leaders' Informal Meeting of the APEC forum slated for Nov. 22-23.

Also on Friday he met with US President George W. Bush here to discuss bilateral relations and major international issues of common concern on the sidelines of the APEC forum.

(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2008)