By Emma Graham-Harrison
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Thursday he would cut short his visit to Latin America to rush home and help with rescue efforts after a deadly quake in the remote and mountainous Tibetan plateau.
The Chinese president is in Brazil where he had planned to stay until Friday for bilateral meetings and a summit of leading emerging economies. He was then due to visit Venezuela and Chile, trips that have now also been postponed.
"At this difficult time, I need to urgently return to my country, to be together with the people of China, pitching in with the earthquake rescue efforts," the Foreign Ministry quoted Hu as saying in phone calls to the Chilean and Venezuelan leaders.
Premier Wen Jiabao will also delay a planned trip to Indonesia, Myanmar and Brunei, the ministry said.
The leaders of the world's top four emerging markets -- Brazil, Russia, India and China, the so-called BRICs -- are meeting in the Brazilian capital to discuss global economic issues and trade promotion.
Hu's decision to fly back early forced Brazil to hurriedly bring forward the summit by a day, and Hu thanked his hosts for their help and understanding after a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
"Our government is currently urgently organizing the earthquake rescue efforts, and because of this I have decided to end this official visit early and return to China as soon as possible," Hu told reporters.
"I have already expressed my deep gratitude to President Lula and the Brazilian government for their understanding, and cooperation on organisation," he added.
The Chinese government's handling of the massive 2008 Sichuan earthquake won praise domestically and helped repair the country's international image in the run-up to the Olympic Games, after it had been dented by deadly rioting in Tibet.
Many Chinese were deeply touched when Wen visited quake sites and personally encouraged rescuers and those trapped under the rubble, a personal touch rare for the country's often remote leadership, which earned him the nickname "Grandpa Wen."
The BRIC meeting will now be held late on Thursday, rather than on Friday. A parallel meeting of Brazil, South Africa and India has also been squeezed into a day now so packed that some leaders will be having bilateral meetings near midnight.
The foursome is expected to push its demands that the BRICs and other developing countries be given more say in global financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The death toll from Wednesday's 6.9 magnitude quake has climbed to 617, and nearly 10,000 were injured.
Wen flew to the Tibetan plateau on Thursday to oversee feverish rescue efforts, but crews held out little hope for residents trapped in freezing weather under the rubble of homes, schools and monasteries.
(Additional reporting by Ray Colitt; editing by Stuart Grudgings and Mohammad Zargham)
