ASEAN leaders commit to free trade

Asian leaders pledged greater cooperation and a renewed committment to free trade at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Thailand, the New York Times reported. The leaders of 10 southeast Asian states, as well as China, Japan and South Korea, also discussed plans to widen the Asian free trade zone, and lower tariffs to encourage trade in the region. At the meeting, attended by Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao, Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that the region needed to find new avenues for economic growth that were not dependent on the US and Europe. Leaders also commended China’s efforts to expand the use of renminbi in regional trade transactions rather than the US dollar, and welcomed Chinese investment in Cambodia and Myanmar.