ROME - FINANCE ministers from the world's richest nations pledged at a crisis meeting on Saturday to avoid protectionistic measures while stimulating their economies in the wake of the worst crisis since the 1930s.

The final joint statement issued by the Group of Seven nations strove to ease concerns that governments determined to protect jobs and ailing industries would abandon commitments to fair cross-border competition.

Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti, the meeting's host, praised the 'strong agreement' among the ministers on rejecting protectionism. He said: 'It is a concrete danger, not only for economies that depend heavily on exports.'

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty urged his G-7 counterparts to resist 'populist political temptation' and stay away from protectionist trade measures amid the economic downturn.

'Protectionist measures are a mistake,' he said.

'This is not the time to start erecting barriers. It's the time to make sure that we do what we can to increase trade.'

Germany and Britain had kicked off the meeting on Friday by saying the world should avoid repeating the protectionist spiral seen during the Great Depression.

G-7 members also took a more conciliatory tone towards China, a non-member seen as key to success at an upcoming Group of 20 emerging and rich nations summit in London.

Beijing came in for special praise in Rome for its 'continued commitment to move to a more flexible exchange rate' that would likely lead to the appreciation of the yuan.

The charge that Beijing was letting its currency slip to protect the price of its exports has been a constant source of friction with Washington.

The G-7 also urged bold reforms to the world financial system while leaving little doubt that the global economic turmoil is far from over.

Mr Tremonti called for a 'new world economic order' as he wrapped up the crisis meeting.

In a joint declaration, the G-7 called for 'urgent reforms' of the international financial system and said stabilisation of the world economy was its 'highest priority'.

The global crisis 'has highlighted fundamental weaknesses in the international financial system and that urgent reforms are needed', the statement said.

The financial leaders from the G-7 grouping of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus Russia met as countries were struggling with the worst economic crisis in decades. -- REUTERS, AFP, BLOOMBERG