U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday the world economy was on a path to recovery but warned that failure to re-balance the global economic system would lead to further crises.
Obama was addressing a meeting of Asia Pacific leaders in Singapore, where officials struggled to agree a final communique after Washington and Beijing debated the wording on market-oriented exchange rates and trade protectionism.
An APEC delegation official who declined to be identified said the statement had been delayed because of discussions between the two global giants on the sidelines of the meeting.
His comments suggested an earlier statement could be watered down and underscored the strains likely to feature when Obama visits China this week after Washington for the first time slapped duties on Chinese-made tyres.
Beijing fears that could set a precedent for more duties on Chinese goods that are gaining market share in the United States.
Obama told APEC leaders the world could not return to the same cycles of boom and bust that sparked the recession.
"We cannot follow the same policies that led to such imbalanced growth. If we do, we will continue to drift from crisis to crisis, a failed path that has already had devastating consequences for our citizens, our businesses, and our governments," Obama said.
"We have reached one of those rare inflection points in history where we have the opportunity to take a different path -- to pursue a new strategy for jobs and growth. Growth that is balanced. Growth that is sustainable."
Obama's strategy calls for America to save more, spend less, reform its financial system and cut its deficits and borrowing. Washington also wants key exporters such as China to boost domestic demand.
An earlier draft statement to be issued by APEC leaders would have pledged its 21 members to "actively reject protectionist measures" and maintain "market-oriented exchange rates that reflect underlying economic fundamentals".
That earlier statement had been agreed at a meeting of APEC finance ministers on Thursday, including China, although it made no reference to the Chinese yuan currency. Chinese President Hu Jintao has been under pressure to let the yuan appreciate, but in a speech at an APEC business summit on Friday he ignored the issue and focused instead on what he called "unreasonable" trade restrictions on developing countries.
YUAN ON THE AGENDA
One of the major themes when Obama visits China will be its yuan, which has effectively been pegged against the dollar since mid-2008 to cushion its economy from the downturn.
Washington says an undervalued yuan is contributing to imbalances between the United States and the world's third-biggest economy.
China's central bank said last week it will consider major currencies in guiding the yuan , suggesting a departure from the peg. APEC leaders are still expected to pledge to keep stimulus policies in place to stop the world from sliding back into recession.
Obama arrived in Singapore late on Saturday, missing most of the day's formal talks and speeches where several leaders suggested the world's largest economy was hampering free trade through policies such as "Buy America" campaigns.
APEC is the last major gathering of global decision-makers before a U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen in three weeks meant to ramp up efforts to fight climate change.
Those negotiations have largely stalled, but a U.S. official said Obama had backed a two-step plan by the Danish prime minister to aim for an operational agreement and to leave legally binding details until later.
The APEC draft earlier dropped a reference to emissions reductions of 50 percent by 2050, and pledged instead to "substantially" cut carbon pollution by 2050.
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