Economic woes unite Asian leaders
TOKYO–The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea yesterday held their nations’ first joint summit, which had been intended to overcome political animosities but instead focused on a joint response to the global economic crisis.
The one-day meeting ended with sweeping promises to turn Asia into an engine of growth, but offered few specifics. The three leaders – Prime Minister Taro Aso of Japan, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China and President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea – also discussed regional issues like ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
The leaders of the three Asian economic powers promised new stimulus spending to increase domestic demand and pick up the slack in global growth left by the slowdown in the U.S. Japan and China agreed to open lines of foreign currency credit to South Korea, whose economy has been hit hardest.
In a joint news conference after their meeting, the leaders said most of their discussion focused on overcoming financial troubles advance payday loans.
"We are important players in Asia and the world and we must strive to respond to this once-in-a-century crisis," Wen said.
Despite the lack of concrete results, the meeting won wide attention for being held at all. Despite their geographical proximity and shared cultural backgrounds, the three countries remain divided by often emotional disagreements over history and territory, as well as economic and technological rivalry.
The meeting was originally planned months ago with the vague goals of building good will and establishing political dialogue.
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