Chinese President Hu Jintao expressed concerns over the ailing U.S. financial system in a phone conversation with U.S. President George W. Bush, state media reported Wednesday.

China, which holds hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. government bonds, has enacted a growing number of measures to stimulate economic growth as its crucial export sector suffers from downturns in the U.S. and Europe.

The Chinese economy expanded by 9 percent in the third quarter, its slowest pace in five years. Waves of layoffs in the manufacturing sector, joined by downturns in real estate and the stock market, could threaten the government's all-important goal of social and political stability.

In their conversation Tuesday night Chinese time, Hu told Bush he hopes U.S. stabilization measures would "take effect as soon as possible, restore investor confidence and prevent further expansion of the crisis," the Xinhua News Agency said.