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Asian powers vow action on economy

PHOTO: XINHUA

COMBINED MIGHT: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (left), his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso (centre) and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Fukuoka, Japan, on Saturday.

FUKUOKA (Japan): The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea called on Saturday at a rare joint summit for action to shield Asia from the global economic crisis and renewed efforts to end North Korea’s nuclear drive.

The meeting of leaders from the three countries — which together account for three-quarters of Asia’s gross domestic product — is their first other than shorter three-way talks on the sidelines of international conferences.

“It is quite a milestone to hold a stand-alone China-Japan-South Korea summit,” said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao as he met his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso.

They were later joined by South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak at a museum in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Fukuoka, the home of Mr. Aso’s wealthy family.

Mr. Wen said it was important for the countries to “join hands and overcome difficulty when the current financial crisis is inflicting a great impact and shock on the world.”

Host Japan said it hoped the summit would lead the three nations to study the possibility of expanding the Chiang Mai Initiative, a system of currency swaps set up in 2000 to protect Asia from regional financial turmoil.

On the eve of the summit, South Korea announced an increase totalling almost $45 billion in its currency swaps with China and Japan. South Korea is eager to widen such deals as its won currency has come under massive selling pressure during the crisis.

China, Japan and South Korea are countries of major influence in East Asia, said Mr. Wen.Developing peaceful and friendly relations is not only a common wish of the three countries but a precondition for realising regional stability and prosperity, Mr. Wen said. The three countries should strengthen dialogue and coordination on macroeconomic polices, boost financial cooperation, adopt measures to facilitate trade and investment and guard against protectionism, said Mr. Wen.— Agencies

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