China will work toward bolstering global economic growth in 2013, President Hu Jintao said in a New Year’s Eve address, amid optimism that a recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy is gaining traction.The nation will “step up efforts to promote strong, sustainable and balanced growth in the world economy,” Hu said in the speech broadcast by state radio and television. China achieved stable economic development in 2012 and will seek to do the same this year while making restructuring of its growth model a focus, he said.Hu’s last New Year’s Eve address before he steps down as president in March signaled Chinese leaders’ confidence the economy may be rebounding after a seven-quarter slowdown. A recovery may facilitate the transfer of power to Xi Jinping, appointed head of the Communist Party in November and set to become president, as authorities seek to assuage discontent sparked by corruption and a widening income gap.The Chinese people are now uniting around the leadership of Xi to work toward building a “well-off society,” Hu said.China’s new Communist Party leaders have pledged to abandon extravagance, cut down on lavish receptions and live more frugally, amid a broader push to stamp out corruption and win back people’s trust.Hu’s speech didn’t indicate how China, set to complete its once-a-decade leadership transition in March, plans to manage an economy that’s estimated to expand 8.1 percent this year.
