Bush urges countries to focus on free trade

Peru: US President George W. Bush used his final world summit to try to keep a virulent economic crisis from triggering a retreat into protectionism.

Bush was pushing to get the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting to endorse a global action plan for combating the global financial crisis.

In his weekly radio address on Saturday, Bush said all countries must focus on the three great forces that drive economic growth: "free markets, free trade and free people."

"Free markets have helped millions lift themselves out of poverty," the president said. "Free trade has helped small nations turn themselves into global economic powers."

"We're facing difficult challenges and there will be tough days ahead," Bush said.

Those comments came after another bad week on Wall Street, with renewed gloom about the prospects of a deepening global recession pushing US stocks down to six-year lows.

On the economy, Bush hopes to urge nations to boost economic growth with stimulus programs and then to tackle the root causes of the crisis.