Not even close to accurate. Neither China nor Japan should emerge as a leader or spokesperson for the other. Neither country comfortably speaks for the other, just as Europe and the US cannot speak with one voice.
Those that are acting for individual countries and yet demanding a regional spokesperson for the east are trying to hold onto their power while diluting that of Japan and China. Good Luck. China and Japan have all the money and each deserves a place at the table. It's so funny to see this. The smart guys are being told they get 2nd class status; the crooks want to retain all the power. Not for long. On Nov 15, 9:38 am, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Asia's Economy Could Use Its Own Gordon Brown: William > Pesekhttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=a2P9aly9t2So&refe... > > Commentary by William Pesek > > Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- As leaders meet in Washington to rescue the > global economy, Asians face a touchy question: Who speaks for us? > > It's a highly valid one as U.S. President George W. Bush hosts many of > the big powers today and tomorrow. Vital, too, with strategists such > as Albert Edwards of Societe Generale SA in London writing: ``We are > all Japan now.'' > > The Japan-like funk that investors said could never befall the U.S. or > Europe is now dangerously plausible. So is the idea that Asia's boom > could fizzle as the richest nations drag developing ones down with > them. > > Risks aside, Asian leaders should be riding high. Many boast what > wealthier nations lack: rapid gross-domestic-product growth; vast > savings; room to cut interest rates and boost public spending; and a > dynamism only found in economies destined for major things. > > China, flush with currency reserves roughly equivalent to the combined > GDP of India and Australia, will surely be asked to play a sugar-daddy > role for the global good. President Hu Jintao may be asked to inject > money into the International Monetary Fund or support U.S. > Treasuries. > > So will Asia really enjoy increased influence as world leaders gather? > Not nearly as much as it should, and the region deserves some of the > blame. > > G-7 Cartel > > The Group of Seven countries is a cartel not unlike OPEC, and a dying > one at that. The time when Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the > U.K. and the U.S. had their way with markets has passed. It's > struggling to cling to power. > > Consider this summit the end of the G-7's dominance. It's being > replaced by the Group of 20, a changing of the guard that's long > overdue. Put this firmly under the category of better late than > never. > > Consisting of G-7 members plus Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, > India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South > Korea, Turkey and the European Union, the G-20 is a more logical > framework for such talks. Its leaders oversee almost 90 percent of > global GDP. > > Asia should be a bigger player than it's likely to be. Why? The region > lacks a Gordon Brown of its own. > > ``In the U.K., Gordon Brown until recently was a failing prime > minister,'' Richard Dobbs, senior partner at McKinsey & Co. in Seoul, > said at a conference there on Nov. 12. ``He managed to rehabilitate > himself with his handling of this global crisis.'' > > Leadership Gap > > Brown's plan to buy equity stakes in banks became an international > template for stabilizing financial systems. Even U.S. Treasury > Secretary Henry Paulson, who initially ruled out such a step, followed > Brown's lead. > > This isn't a hero-gram for Brown. Critics wonder why Brown didn't do > more to cap skyrocketing debt, regulate markets and see troubles > brewing at banks such as Northern Rock Plc in his decade as chancellor > of the exchequer. > > Yet there's something to be said for Brown's leadership at a time when > others failed to take the initiative. > > Dobbs says Asia needs such leadership, or at least a spokesman of > sorts. Groups such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or > Asean, are impressing no one. > > Japan would seem an obvious choice, as it's the world's second-biggest > economy. For all its might, Japan hasn't mustered the courage or > vision to speak for the region. Neither has China or South Korea. > Also, leaders in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo are barely on speaking > terms. > > Speaking for Asia > > What about India? Its economy isn't big enough or open enough, many in > East Asia might argue. Australia? Too Western a power, some may say. > Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy? President Susilo Bambang > Yudhoyono has his hands full stabilizing a strategically important > nation. > > How about Gloria Arroyo? The Philippine president, to her credit, has > spoken out about the need for an Asian response to the global crisis. > Her economy lacks the size or efficiency needed to be taken seriously > elsewhere. > > Lee Myung Bak of Korea? ``Could President Lee, a former CEO, be the > Brown of Asia?'' asked Dobbs. ``As Western leaders talk about a new > global architecture, why should Asia be left out? Why should Asia let > this happen in the U.S.?'' > > The U.S. approach to risk management, regulation and corporate > governance turned out to be wildly overrated. Gone are the days when > U.S. officials could demand this or that from Asia. > > Designating a Brown > > ``This crisis is the last nail in the coffin of the so- called > Washington consensus,'' says Park Sang-Yong, a professor at Yonsei > University in Seoul. > > ``Washington consensus'' is often code for IMF policies. Asia is where > much of the money needed today and much of the growth of the future > will come from. The very idea that Belgium and the Netherlands > together wield more power in the IMF's voting structure than China is > just ridiculous. > > An IMF with more emerging-market power and less U.S. dominance ``would > be a very different organization, the beginning of a more multilateral > financial world,'' said Stephen Green, head of China research at > Standard Chartered Bank Plc in Shanghai. ``But who knows if we are > ready for that yet?'' > > Designating an Asian Gordon Brown or two to make the case would help. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World-thread" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/world-thread?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
