U.S. President George W. Bush, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and other members of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group, or APEC pledged on Saturday to push for a global free trade deal and reform international lending institutions in an effort to keep the world from sliding into a deep recession. They also supported overhauls of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank at a time when more countries are asking for emergency funds.

On his last scheduled trip abroad before handing over power to President-elect Barack Obama on January 20, Bush joined his APEC peers in rejecting protectionism and urging a breakthrough in the long-running Doha round of trade talks before the end of this year. "It's important for us to continue to work together in this time of economic turmoil," he said earlier on Saturday. He said the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression is a new chance for world unity and prosperity.

Bush used the summit to build support for an emergency plan approved by the Group of 20 nations, which include the world's richest economies plus big developing nations such as China, Brazil and India. Those nations agreed at a summit in Washington last weekend to work together on tighter oversight of their financial market and stand by a commitment to open trade and many other steps.

Bush's attendance at the APEC meeting marked his eighth year of meeting with and speaking to economic leaders from a diverse group of countries ranging from Thailand to Mexico, Chile to China. At the current meeting, world leaders unveiled a set of sweeping plans aimed at tackling the ever-expanding economic crisis, which has roiled financial markets worldwide.