Addressing the seminar, US Professor Robert Scalapino said owing to its diversity, the Asia-Pacific region faced challenges in seeking economic cooperation and mutual security.

Currently the region was witnessing the promotion of economic interdependence and expansion of security dialogues, he said. China's development depended upon a peaceful and stable Asian environment, and China's economic growth and social stability contributed to the prosperity and security of the Asia-Pacific region, he noted.

Professor Lin Yifu of Peking University said China's economic growth posed no threat to other Asian countries. A stronger Chinese economy would only provide a more extensive market and serve to upgrade the regional industrial structure.

C. H. Dalai of the Mongolian Academy of Science said the ultimate goal of regional development was to keep the harmony of the natural environment and reduce the imbalance among different regions.

Propelled by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and cooperation among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, plus the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the process of Asian regionalization was accelerating, said US Professor George Yu.

China's prosperity was a positive influence for Southeast Asian regionalization, Yu said, adding that the trade potential between China and ASEAN was huge if such regional economic growth could be maintained.

Tae-Dong Kim of the Bank of Korea said regional economic cooperation was a notable feature of the current world economy. Free and open regional economic cooperation would provide fresh momentum for East Asian countries that have consistently pursued an outward-looking economic strategy.

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2002)