"When disputes and problems occur that may affect regional stability, we need to enhance trust, remove misunderstanding, reduce difference and defuse conflicts through dialogue, consultation and negotiation and seek peaceful resolution of such disputes and problems," he said.

President Hu made the remarks on Saturday at the first session of the 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

His remarks came in the wake of the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, which was caused by the nuclear test of Democratic People's Republic of Korea early last month. China, as a major host of Six-Party talks, advocates for dialogues to resolve the problem.

Hu asked all members to crack down hard on terrorism and transnational crimes of all forms and pay special attention to addressing their root causes.

In response to the deep-rooted structural problems hindering the economic and social progress of the region, Hu urged the developed APEC members to act with the long-term interest in mind and take effective steps to narrow the development gap and promote common prosperity.

"This concerted effort will help to achieve comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific economy," he noted.

The Chinese President called for the mode of "win-win co-operation" to handle global and regional challenges.

The Asia-Pacific still faces high energy prices, imbalances in economic development and occurrence of major communicable diseases, according to Hu.

"Common challenges often create opportunities of co-operation. We should seize opportunities, meet challenges, expand common interests and strive for win-win progress," he said.

He told APEC leaders to "be open and inclusive" because there are a number of regional and sub-regional co-operation mechanisms in the Asia-Pacific region.

"We should support their parallel development so as to foster in the Asia-Pacific an environment of co-operation that is open and inclusive and that thrives on diversity. We should also be open towards mechanisms in other regions and be committed to open regionalism," he added.

Leaders of the 21 member economies of the APEC began their annual meeting in Hanoi on Saturday to facilitate free trade and promote sustainable development in the region.

During the close-door meeting, the leaders approved a Hanoi Action Plan for implementing the Busan Roadmap towards the Bogor Goals.

APEC leaders in 2005 developed a blueprint in Busan, South Korea, for improving trade and investment facilitation measures. According to Bogor Goals, a free and open trade and investment in the APEC region will be achieved by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies.

President Hu said that APEC should play a greater role in the following areas:

First, support the development of the multilateral trading system. A stable and healthy multilateral trading system is crucial to the growth of both global economy and the economy of the Asia-Pacific.

"Should the Doha Round of negotiations fail, no country would gain any benefit," said Hu "the top priority now is to resume negotiation speedily, reach agreement on key issues and deliver in good faith the commitment that the Doha Round is a round of development."

Second, strive to meet the Bogor Goals. The Bogor Goals chart the future course of APEC and are a criterion for gauging the performance of the Organization. China supports the Hanoi Plan of Action aimed at attaining the Bogor Goals as scheduled.

Third, enhance economic and technical co-operation, which is an important means to narrow development gap and promote common prosperity.

In recent years, a number of new problems and challenges have emerged in areas of financial security, energy security and public health security. Many APEC members lack adequate experience and capability to respond to them.

"We should increase input, make our co-operation more effective and focused and help developing members of APEC improve their international competitiveness and their capacity to meet challenges," he added.