By Peh Shing Huei, China Correspondent

BEIJING - CHINESE President Hu Jintao declared yesterday that China would never turn back from its policy of reform and opening up, but it would also not go down the path of a Western liberal democracy.

Amid the worst global financial crisis since the 1930s, Mr Hu identified maintaining social stability as the most pressing task for the Chinese government, reviving official slogans used after the 1989 Tiananmen protests and the fall of the Soviet Union.

The exhortation reflects a certain anxiety among the Chinese leaders, say analysts, even as Mr Hu presented a glowing 30-year report card showing average annual growth of 9.8 per cent, China's hosting of the Olympics and its ascent into space.

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