Experts urge E. Asian leaders to seek remedies at London summit+

TOKYO, March 19 Kyodo -
East Asian experts called on their leaders Thursday to seek remedies in terms
of fiscal, monetary and trade policies to combat the ongoing sharp global
economic downturn at an upcoming financial summit slated for April 2 in London.
A group of eminent persons from East Asian think tanks urged the leaders to
call on the rest of the world to ''support monetary and fiscal stimulus
measures,'' including the launch of the so-called ''global expenditure support
fund'' to help cash-strapped developing nations.
The academic researchers said East Asia has been doing its part to boost
domestic demand by easing monetary and fiscal policies, and sought a
coordinated effort for ''inclusive and sustainable growth'' with an emphasis on
''infrastructure investment, environmental improvement and social sector
protection.''
On top of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who advocates the
expenditure support fund to overcome local financing gaps in the credit
turmoil, leaders from Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand
are scheduled to represent Asia at the summit to be held in London.
The Group of 20 major industrialized and emerging economies plus several other
economies will participate in the London summit. Except for Thailand, those
Asian countries are members of the G-20.
The eminent persons also urged regional leaders to encourage the United States
and Europe, the epicenters of the current crisis, to ''resolve toxic assets,
clean up balance sheets and recapitalize the financial system'' as quickly as
possible.
On trade, they said maintaining open trade is ''vital for a return to economic
expansion.'' East Asia ''rejects trade protectionism, and is mindful of the
dangers of competitive currency depreciation,'' according to their policy
paper.
Former Thai Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn, one of those experts,
told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan that Asian creditor
nations should be ''fully involved'' in efforts to examine the causes of the
current crisis and prevent a recurrence.
''We are the biggest creditors in the world. As creditors, we need to have a
bigger say in the global financial architecture,'' he said.
Zhang Yunling, director of the Institute of Asian and Pacific Studies at the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stressed at the same press conference that
''consolidated, coordinated and collective'' efforts are needed by countries to
ride out the financial calamity.
He said China, which has been implementing a 4 trillion yuan stimulus package,
still has room for additional fiscal steps, with local governments expected to
spur spending further.
==Kyodo
2009-03-19 19:36:04