Boao annual conference opens, urging Asian countries to cooperate in financial crisis

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao gives a keynote speech at the opening plenary of Boao Forum  for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2009 in  Boao, a scenic town in south China's Hainan Province, April 18, 2009. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

China's gross domestic production (GDP) rose 6.1 percent in the first quarter of this year, the slowest pace in a decade.

However, the situation is "better than expected", the premier said, citing pick-ups in investment, consumption and industrial output, as well as ample liquidity in the banking system.

He said domestic demand is boosted in a comprehensive way, industrial output has gradually stabilized, and agricultural production is on the whole stable. Economic restructuring has made encouraging progress, and urban employment has risen as 2.68 million jobs were created in the urban areas in the first quarter.

"We should not, however, lose sight of the fact that the international financial crisis is still spreading, the basic trend of world economic recession is not reversed, problems in the financial system remain unsolved and the worsening of the real economy has been more serious than expected," he warned.