ASIA AND THE EUROZONE CRISIS

US URGES ASIA TO HELP SAVE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Andrew Gully

AFP, November 11, 2011

HONOLULU, Hawaii — The United States urged Asia to do more to stimulate growth to offset the eurozone crisis, ahead of a summit in which Washington is seeking to shape the rules for the emerging Pacific region.

Police sealed off Honolulu's usually laid-back Waikiki Beach as Chinese President Hu Jintao became the latest leader to arrive for the weekend summit that will be led by US President Barack Obama, a Hawaii native.

US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, chairing talks on Thursday of finance ministers from the APEC bloc, said that the meeting was dominated by how to make growth more balanced and sustainable, given the crisis in Europe.

"Asian economies will need to do more to stimulate domestic demand growth -- both so they are less vulnerable to slowdowns, such as the situation in Europe, and so they can continue to contribute to global growth," he said.

The 21 members of APEC, or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, account for about 40 percent of the world's population, more than 50 percent of its gross domestic product and 44 percent of global trade.

"While APEC economies are the most vulnerable to a global slowdown, they can also play the greatest role in contributing to the global recovery and establishing the foundations of strong, sustainable, and balanced future growth," Geithner said.

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