Economic agreement for Asian nations

China, Japan and South Korea agreed to enhance economic cooperation and consider boosting bilateral currency swaps to protect against the global financial crisis, the countries' finance ministers said.

The ministers said they would "expedite the process" of the Chiang Mai Initiative on multilateral swaps, according to the statement, released after a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Washington. South Korea's Finance Ministry sent the statement to Bloomberg News.

"The Asian region faces challenges including slower economic growth and financial market fluctuations," the statement said. "We concurred that we should be well-prepared against the adverse effects of the global financial turmoil and the risks of further slowdown in the world economy."

Finance ministers from 13 Asian nations, including China, South Korea and Japan, agreed in May to create a pool of at least US$80 billion in foreign-exchange reserves to be tapped to protect their currencies. That was an expansion of the so-called Chiang Mai Initiative, a deal that allows countries to lend each other money at favorable terms if help is needed to support their exchange rates.

China, South Korea and Japan would provide about 80 percent of the pool, said a statement after finance ministers met in May. The rest would be provided by the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian nations.