Chinese Premier asks for close regional cooperation

Updated at: 1048 PST, Saturday, April 18, 2009

BOAO: China's Premier Wen Jiabao said Saturday that international and regional cooperation should be boost to tackle global financial crunch. He said the country's stimulus package is working and the economy is ``better than expected.'' He also vowed to expand the country's domestic demand and pull China out of the global economic slump. Wen spoke at the Boao Forum, an annual gathering of government and business leaders on the southern island province of Hainan. Wen said he is confident China can overcome the crisis but cautioned that global economic recovery will be a ``long and torturous process.'' ``We should not lose sight of the fact that the international financial crisis is still spreading, the basic trend of world economic recession is not reversed,'' he said. China has sufficient capital and rich labor resources, as well as institutional advantages to overcome the crisis, he said. ``China's package plan is already paying off and positive changeshave taken place in the economy,'' Wen said Saturday. ``The situation is better than expected.''