国际英语新闻：Obama picks GE chief as new economic advisory body chief

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday named Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive officer of General Electric (GE), to chair a new economic advisory agency named Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, his latest move to throw an olive branch to the U.S. business executives and to bolster the nation's job creation efforts.

"Jeffrey is one of the nation's most respected and admired business leaders, and that's a reputation he earned over ten years at the helm of this company," Obama said at a GE plant in Schenectady, New York state.

The new council would take place of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, an advisory panel composed of economists, corporate executives and among others, chaired by former U.S. Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker. Immelt was also a member of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

Obama noted that Volcker, who offered "unvarnished advice and he wasn't afraid to counter the conventional wisdom," had done a great service to the United States.

"The past two years were about pulling our economy back from the brink. The next two years, our job now, is putting our economy into overdrive. Our job is to do everything we can to ensure that businesses can take root and folks can find good jobs and America is leading the global competition," Obama added.