Asian and European leaders meeting in the Chinese capital, Beijing,
say current efforts to resolve the global financial crisis are not
enough and that further cooperation is needed. Daniel Schearf reports
from Beijing.
Leaders from more than forty Asian and
European countries issued a joint statement Saturday calling for
coordinated efforts to tackle the financial crisis.
The leaders pledged their support in efforts to reform the international monetary and financial systems.
The statement also called for the International Monetary Fund to play a lead role in helping economies recover.
Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao said all countries needed to show confidence,
cooperation, and responsibility to get through the crisis. He said
only by cooperating would countries have the strength to overcome
hardships.
He
says confidence means that all countries, especially developed ones,
need to quickly take decisive measures to stabilize the financial
markets so as to make people more confident.
The statement came
at the end of the Asia-Europe Meeting, a two-day summit held to
increase understanding and cooperation between the continents.
The
meeting, held every two years, is normally just a discussion platform.
But the growing fall-out from the world credit squeeze has focused
attention on finding solutions.
Mr. Wen said countries need to strike a balance between encouraging financial innovation and regulating the market.
He says they need financial innovation but they need financial oversight even more.
Mr.
Wen said although China's economy was not severely damaged by the
crisis it would likely suffer more as global demand slowed down.
The meeting also addressed energy security, poverty, and climate change, among other issues.
The
president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, said the
financial crisis was no reason to postpone commitments made in fighting
climate change.
"We need to agree a
comprehensive, global agreement according to the principle of shared
but differentiated responsibilities. And, I really believe that after
the very good exchanges we had today that it is possible to reach that
agreement," he said.
Europe and Asia make up over half of the world's growth in domestic production.
The
financial crisis started in the United States when massive defaults on
home loans led several major banks to close down or merge. The credit
crunch slowed consumption, investment and world trade.
Washington
will hold a financial crisis summit next month. Asian and European
leaders meeting in Beijing said they would support the summit.
