AFMM Delegates Call for Joint Action to Check Economic Slide

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) finance ministers and officials from international organizations Saturday called for joint action to reverse the slide of the global economy.

During the Eighth APEC Finance Ministers Meeting (AFMM), which opened Saturday morning in Suzhou, all the participants agreed to adopt microeconomic policy action and push forward structural reform.

Xiang Huaicheng, China's finance minister and chair of the AFMM, said that in the current situation in which the regional and world economy are in a slowdown, the APEC, as an important regional organization, is facing the challenge of maintaining economic development, and the APEC finance ministers are obligated to do something in this regard.

He said that the prospects for Asia will be promising as long as the APEC members take effective measures and strengthen cooperation.

Representatives from the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Vietnam and some international organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank joined today's meeting.

Horst Koehler, manager director and chairman of executive board of the IMF, expressed appreciation for the policies taken by some economies to stimulate economic growth, hoping that newly emerging market economies would find the way to recover as soon as possible.

Sven Sandstrom, managing director of the World Bank, said that the global economy will recover next year.

Chino Tadao, president of the Asian Development Bank, appealed to all economies in the region to pay attention to industrial restructuring, speed up financial reforms, and deepen cooperation in the trade, investment and finance fields.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill said that the U.S. government has taken measures to spur its economy, such as lowering the interest rates for seven consecutive times and reducing taxes.

Japanese Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said that Japan's economic situation is severe, but the economic growth rate in 2000 will be above zero.






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