Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra and Lee Han-dong, prime minister of the Republic
of Korea (ROK) delivered speeches at 1st Annual Conference of BFA
on Friday.
China's Development is Not Threat, But Opportunity to World:
Japanese PM
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Friday rebutted the view
that China's economic development was a threat.
"Some see the economic development of China as a threat. I do not,"
said Koizumi in a speech at the first annual conference of the Boao
Forum for Asia (BFA), which opened Friday morning in Boao, a scenic
seaside town in China's southernmost province of Hainan.
"I
believe that its (China's) dynamic economic development presents
challenges as well as opportunity for Japan. I believe a rising
economic tide and expansion of the market in China will stimulate
competition and will prove to be a tremendous opportunity for the
world economy as a whole," he said.
Noting the differences in the industrial structures of Japan and
China, Koizumi said the two countries could strengthen their
mutually complementary bilateral economic relations.
"I
see the advancement of Japan-China economic relations, not as a
hollowing-out of Japanese industry, but as an opportunity to
nurture new industries in Japan and to develop their activities in
the Chinese market," he said, adding that this would promote
bilateral cooperation in a wider prospect.
According to the Japanese prime minister, Asian countries should
intensify their domestic reforms, and at the same time, be fully
aware of the importance of conveying to the world the information
that Asia is a force for world growth, and strengthen cooperation
in the fields of energy, trade and finance.
Koizumi appealed to Asian countries to work together to fight
terrorism, and strengthen environmental protection for the
sustainable development of the continent.
A Richer China Spells Prosperity for Asia: Thai PM
China's economy is one of the most dynamic in the world and a
richer China could only spell prosperity for Asia, Thai Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said here Friday.
At
the annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia, he said there was
great potential for China's economic development and that China's
accession to the World Trade Organization was an event of great
hope for developing countries in Asia and other parts of the
world.
With its rich human and other resources, Asia could achieve more in
poverty reduction and economic development with the removal of
discriminative measures against developing countries in
international trade, the Thai PM said.
He
added that China's WTO membership would add to the weight of Asian
countries in the new round of international trade talks and help
establish a fairer and more justified international trade
system.
He
said the acceleration of the economic globalization process would
not only lead to the internationalization of production and free
flow of trade and capital, but also fiercer competition for markets
and resources.
In
such a context, Asian countries must strive to maximize their
interests through mutually beneficial cooperation, he said.
Thaksin spoke highly of the establishment of the forum, saying that
for the promotion of internal trade and the competitive edge of
Asia as a whole, the continent needed an exchange platform of its
own to strengthen dialogue, communication and coordination.
Asia had met big difficulties in economic recovery and development
over recent years, it needs a mechanism of cooperation to bring its
economy out of the slump, he said.
ROK Prime Minister Urges Asia to Build World Economic
Center
Asia should seize chances created by the information technology era
and work hard to build itself into a world economic center in the
21st century, according to Lee Han-dong, prime minister of the
Republic of Korea (ROK).
He
was speaking at the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia
(BFA) that opened Friday morning in this seaside resort of Boao, on
the central eastern coast of Hainan Province.
Though Asia was home to 60 percent of the world's total population,
the continent's economies equaled just one third of the world's
total, and an overwhelming majority of Asian countries lagged
behind developed countries, especially in the degree of
industrialization.
"One important reason is that Asian countries, excluding Japan,
have failed to react in time to the wave of industrialization,"
said Lee.
The world was experiencing an information revolution whose
influence far exceeded that of industrial revolution, said Lee,
warning that the aftermath of Asia lagging behind again in the
information age would be more serious and the widening gap would
plunge Asia into a vicious cycle.
While urging Asian countries to seize chances created by new
technologies, Lee also called on them to make a good use of their
rich natural and human resources, open wider, share information,
promote regional cooperation, improve industrial competitiveness
together and build Asia into a world economic center in the 21st
century.
With a common goal, Asian countries had many favorable economic
factors, despite some obstacles in promoting regional cooperation,
said Lee, who was confident that Asia, with its vitality, would
become an important force in development of the world economy in
the 21st century.
(
April 13, 2002)