CANNES, France - Chinese President Hu Jintao said here Wednesday that all members of the international community should work together to cope with worldwide economic difficulties.

The world is experiencing a sluggish economic recovery, he said in talks with Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), ahead of a G20 summit slated for Thursday and Friday in Cannes.

Chinese President Hu Jintao meets with Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), ahead of a G20 summit in Cannes, Dec 2, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

Hu noted that some developed countries are struggling with serious sovereign debt problems, while emerging economies are confronted with inflation and drastically fluctuating cross-border capital flows.

Under such circumstances, all members of the international community should follow the all-in-the-same-boat spirit and join hands to ride out the current woes, he stressed.

The world should figure out ways to maintain stable growth, revive market confidence and prevent further spread of the crisis, he said, adding that structural reforms should be carried out to guarantee a robust, sustainable and balanced global economic growth.

Maintaining a robust growth should be a top priority at the current stage, the Chinese president said, while urging concerted efforts to resist all forms of protectionism resolutely.

Lagarde appreciated China's support for the IMF, saying that with the global economy facing new threats, the international community should take effective measures to restore market confidence.

She also said the developed economies need to make great efforts and support each other while the IMF can provide more help in this regard.

She added that China is an important country and plays a major role in promoting global economic and financial stability.