Hu: Shanghai cooling measures vital

Chinese President Hu Jintao on a tour of Shanghai declared that recent macroeconomic control measures taken by the central government were necessary and extremely timely, state media said. Hu toured a Shanghai Volkswagen joint venture plant and other factories on his four-day visit. Hu said unstable and unhealthy elements in the economy had to be stopped and measures to strengthen vulnerable sectors had to be implemented at the same time. According to one media report, the trip was aimed at pressuring Shanghai to follow central government policies, while saluting Shanghai's special role in helping to power up China's economy. Beijing recently stepped in to interrupt work on Shanghai's Universal theme park and related infrastructure work as part of its cooling efforts.