Regional cooperation and integration is crucial to Asia's future development, according to President of Asia Development Bank Haruhiko Kuroda who is attending the China Development Forum 2010 on Sunday.
"The prospect of regional integration in Asia is promising, particular in East Asia," Kuroda told Xinhuanet in an interview on the sideline of the annual forum hosted by Development Research Center of the State Council of China.
"In the coming five years or more than five years, some developed economies, including the U.S. and European economies, would recover rapidly," said Kuroda, "but their consumption may not increase so rapidly as it used to be."
"That means Asia must rebalance its source of growth from external demand to domestic and regional demand," Kuroda said.
"The regional integration is the key to sustain high growth," he said.
In a speech earlier at the forum, Kuroda also said through investing in neighbor countries, China can "play a leading role" in promoting regional integration.
He told Xinhuanet that China has played "an important role in trading and financial cooperation" in Asia, "so in coming years, regional cooperation and integration in East Asia will be further enhanced."
China has been actively participating in regional integration programs. On Jan. 1, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations kicked off their free trade area./.