World leaders arrive in Beijing for two-day talks

Leaders from Europe and Asia arrived in Beijing yesterday for the 43-nation two-day Asia-Europe Meeting, at which key European heads of state will likely ask for Beijing’s help in dealing with the global economic crisis, the South China Morning Post reported. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Union President Jose Barroso have called on China to play a much bigger role in the crisis, though both stopped short of offering detailed proposals. China had US$1.9 trillion in foreign currency reserves as of the end of last month, and it has been suggested that China add much-needed liquidity into US and European markets to help revive confidence. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qing Gang said yesterday that the summit would allow countries to exchange views on coordination and cooperation, but added that developed countries should take the economic realities of developing countries fully into consideration.