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Wen Jiabao and Vladimir Putin address the World Economic Forum in Davos.(Getty Images)The premiers of Russia and China slammed the U.S. economic system in speeches Wednesday, holding it responsible for the global economic crisis.Both focused on the role of the U.S. dollar, with China's Premier Wen Jiabao calling for better regulation of major reserve currencies and Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin calling over-reliance on the dollar "dangerous." Speaking on the opening day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, they both urged more international cooperation to escape the downturn. They also talked up the abilities of their own economies to ride out the recession.Mr. Wen said he was "confident" China would hit its 8% growth target for this year even though that was "a tall order." (See the full text.)The Russian and Chinese leaders also called for cooperation with U.S. President Barack Obama, but it was a chilly reception for the new administration that reflected growing anger in economies that are now getting hit hard by a financial crisis that began with subprime mortgages sold in the U.S.Mr. Putin was characteristically blunt. He called for the development of multiple, regional reserve currencies in addition to the dollar."Excessive dependence on a single reserve currency is dangerous for the global economy," Mr. Putin said. (See the full text.)The Russian leader mocked U.S. businessmen who he said had boasted at last year's Davos meeting of the U.S. economy's fundamental strength and "cloudless" prospects."Today, investment banks, the pride of Wall Street, have virtually ceased to exist," he said.Earlier, Mr. Wen called for an expansion of regulatory "coverage of the international financial system, with particular emphasis on strengthening the supervision on major reserve currencies."While Mr. Wen never named the U.S., his critique of its failings was as sweeping as Mr. Putin's. The financial crisis, he said, was "attributable to inappropriate macroeconomic policies of some economies and their unsustainable model of development characterized by prolonged low savings and high consumption; excessive expansion of financial institutions in blind pursuit of profit"-and other excesses."The entire economic growth system, where one regional center prints money without respite and consumes material wealth, while another regional centre manufactures inexpensive goods...has suffered a major setback," Mr. Putin said.Mr. Wen's comments came just days after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner accused China of manipulating its currency for economic gain. The Chinese premier gently, but firmly warned that if Washington and Beijing chose confrontation, both would be losers.But the different tones of the two speeches, and the fact that Mr. Wen didn't call for replacing the dollar's role as the world's reserve currency but regulating it, reflect crucial differences in the important emerging economies.A spokeswoman for the U.S. Treasury Department declined to comment on the remarks in the speeches. The White House did not respond to requests for comment....
Greg White in Moscow contributed to this article.
Greg White in Moscow contributed to this article.
By MARC CHAMPION in Davos, Switzerland, and ANDREW BATSON in Beijing
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