2007年VOA标准英语-Asia Threatened by Global Financial Imbalances,

By Kurt Achin
Kyoto
04 May 2007

Asia's economic development is a success story that has been decades in the making. But in the past decade, the region has become a key factor in a global imbalance marked by too much reliance on exports by countries in one part of the world and excessive consumption by countries in another part, such as the United States. As senior officials from the Asian Development Bank gather in Kyoto, Japan, some say the way to end this imbalance is through regional economic integration¹. VOA's Kurt Achin is in Kyoto with more.

People walk pass a statue of traders from the olden days in Singapore, while the financial district is seen in the background (File)

Much of Asia is a reverse mirror image of what it was 10 years ago. When the financial crisis struck in 1997, Asian nations had overvalued currencies, low foreign reserves, and they imported more than they sold.

Friday, as delegates from the 67 member nations of the Asian Development bank gathered here in Kyoto, Japan, it was clear that picture has changed. Asian nations such as South Korea, Japan and China have trade surpluses, and the region holds a combined total of $3 trillion in foreign currency reserves.

More than a trillion dollars of that is held by China alone - a fact that worries Yu Yongding, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.

"By far, it's too much," he said. "Actually, we are worried about how to deal with these huge foreign reserves."

These massive surpluses are the flip² side of a massive trade deficit³ in the United States. Experts say the two regions are locked into an unattractive cycle of export-led development in Asia, fueled by U.S. imports, which in turn is underwritten by Asian lending.

Nouriel Roubini, finance professor at New York University, says Asia can no longer afford to rely so exclusively on the United States.

"There are now meaningful risks of a U.S. hard landing, and that can become problematic," he said. "If the U.S. hard landing were to occur, the effects on the [Asian] region will be severe."

Delegates are using the meeting here to discuss what they believe is a solution to the problem: weaning the region away from reliance on the U.S. through closer regional integration, similar to that in the European Union.

But that takes political will, and a willingness to give up some national sovereignty. Toyoo Gyohten, president of the Japan-based International Institute of Monetary⁴ Affairs, says the region is not ready.

"I'm afraid East Asia does not yet have a clear, strong, and unanimous view of the need and the cost of regional integration," he said.

Experts say that is partially⁵ because of the extreme diversity in this region. Countries like South Korea and Laos, for example, are at vastly different economic levels.

Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia's minister of finance, says Asian leaders are not truly convinced that their actions toward integration will be matched by other countries.

"To become the first mover, you become a hero, but a victim at the same time, so… if there is no guarantee of regional coordinated⁶ and concerted effort, or even global coordinated and concerted effort, then each country moves toward safeguarding yourself," she said.

She says the best hope for the short term is for national governments to put their own economies in order, with good transparent⁷ business practices. If they do that, she says, integration will come more naturally.

1 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

2 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

5 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

6 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。