Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged Sunday to support the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members to strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation and create peaceful and stable regional environment.

Hu made the pledge when speaking at Retreat II of the 12th Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in the Chilean capital. He expounded China's stance on Asia-Pacific regional cooperation and APEC's future development in his speech.

The two-day APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting kicked off Saturday amid tight security under the theme of "One Community, Our Future".

"Terrorism is our common enemy," Hu said. The international community have exerted positive efforts and strengthened cooperation in eliminating the threats posed by terrorism.

China opposes all forms of terrorism and supports APEC in giving greater play in its advantages, continuing to focus on economic and trade cooperation while stepping up practical cooperation with capacity-building as the first step, striving to create a stable and secure environment for the economic development and trade investment of the Asian-Pacific region, the Chinese president said.

"I welcome the APEC cooperation to crack down on corruption. It is hoped that all members will follow the principles of equality, mutual benefit, respecting differences and emphasizing practical results and strive for substantive progress in anti-corruption cooperation in the areas of capacity-building, prosecuting offenders and tracing and recovering the proceeds of corruption," Hu noted.

The Chinese president arrived at Chile's presidential palace at 09:20 a.m. (local time) and was greeted by Chilean President Ricardo Lagos.

The APEC economic leaders later stood in front of a fountain, wearing traditional Chilean "Chamantos" , posing for a group photograph.

The "chamanto" is a decorative, reversible -a light and a dark side - poncho woven in silk thread and wool, its entire contour finished with ribbon edging.

The APEC economic leaders are expected to issue Santiago Declaration after the conclusion of the two-day meeting on Sunday afternoon.

The 13th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Busan, South Korea, on Nov. 18-19, next year.

The APEC was set up in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence among Asia-Pacific economies and to the need to advance Asia-Pacific economic dynamism and sense of community.

It now groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico,New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

The organization accounts for more than a third of the world's population with about 2.6 billion people, nearly 60 percent of the world GDP with about 19 trillion US dollars and about 47 percent of world trade. It also represents the most economically dynamic region in the world generating nearly 70 percent of global economic growth during the last 10 years.

The Chinese president arrived here Thursday for a state visit to Chile and attending the 12th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.