Obama says U.S. will join Asian free-trade area

"This means the United States needs to consume less, and produce and export more, while many of our APEC members with surpluses should seriously consider the need to increase their consumption and imports," he said.

He emphasized American willingness to expand economic ties across the Asia-Pacific region and the key role the U.S. plays in helping to lead global efforts toward freer trade.

"A rising tide lifts all boats," he said. "If we work together to rise above this downturn, we can lift up all our economies and all our peoples."

Hu on Friday cited China's efforts to fire up demand at home through improved social services, tax cuts and other consumption-friendly policies, to make the world's third-largest economy less reliant on exports.

He also called for better policing of world financial markets to prevent the kind of meltdown triggered by speculation in toxic assets and perilously high levels of debt.

Mexico's president warned the United States against succumbing to protectionism.

"Protectionism is killing North American companies," said President Felipe Calderon, whose country is eyeing 3 percent growth in 2010 after a 7.2 percent contraction this year.

Mexico's economy is heavily dependent on U.S. trade and investment, and Calderon decried subsidies to banks and manufacturers, such as automaker General Motors Co., and so-called "buy American" provisions for projects backed by U.S. economic stimulus spending.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, making his first trip to Singapore, said protectionism is a "short-term" solution and stressed that trade is a powerful stimulus for growth.

In a lighthearted moment, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd quipped that during the crisis, "there has been ample opportunity not only for public policy but for prayer."

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