Asian countries should attach more importance to all-round economic cooperation in the region, instead of just trade agreements, Long Yongtu -- secretary-general of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia -- said in Beijing yesterday. 

The China-based forum is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization. "Overall economic cooperation -- especially cooperation in fields such as finance, investment, advanced technology and human resources -- needs more attention from Asian countries, as trade is just part of economic cooperation issues," Long said.

He admitted that the establishment of free-trade agreements among Asian countries will greatly benefit not only the countries directly involved but the region as a whole.

It is also an effective way to limit trade being diverted from Asia to other areas, as more and more bilateral or regional free-trade areas are established globally to promote intraregional trade, he added.

However, Long added: "Regional free-trade liberalization is being overemphasized." He stressed again that trade is not the most important issue in economic cooperation.

Free-trade agreements are regarded as "special cases" under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Therefore, the increasing number of regional and bilateral free-trade agreements will, in the future, undermine all the multilateral processes encompassed in the WTO, Long said.

"Though there is nothing wrong with regional and bilateral trade agreements, these must go beyond free-trade agreements and must not lead to regional exclusivity," he said.

With demand for all-round cooperation and regional economic integration in Asia, the Bo'ao Forum for Asia was established in 2001. It is providing a platform for government leaders, business people and academics around the world to discuss Asian issues, Long explained.

Currently, more attention is being paid to the forum due to the region's rapid development, he said.

Long said he is confident about the forum's future and believes it will be conducive to Asia's economic development.

"The most important thing for the forum at present is to establish a global resource network of officials, economists and entrepreneurs specializing in Asian issues and to establish cooperation with other global organizations and financial institutions," Long said.

He said he expects to build the Bo'ao forum into the most active one in the world.

The forum's annual conference for this year was due to be held in May but was postponed due to SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). It will be held on November 2 and 3 in Bo'ao, south China's Hainan Province.

The theme of the conference will be "The Asian search for a win-win situation: development through cooperation" and is expected to result in new ideas for regional cooperation in Asia.

(China Daily October 15, 2003)