Long was recommended as BFA secretary-general by the Chinese government on Jan. 20 of this year. He said that the BFA is an international organization created and supported by former leaders of Asian countries, including former Philippine President Fidel Ramos and former Japanese Primer Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro.

He pointed out that Europe experienced rapid economic integration with the founding of the European Union and EU expansion and that north America has also established a free-trade zone. In terms of regional integration, Asia lags far behind the above-mentioned regions.

Asian countries have taken some measures in recent years, Long said, such as the ASEAN proposal to create the "10+3", which includes ASEAN, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and China's promotion of a China-ASEAN free-trade zone.

He said that the globalized economy requires regional economic integration, since a vital regional economy will benefit overall development. The WTO's most-favored-nation (MFN) status provides preferential policies for regional trade, which will give great impetus to regional trade. Statistics show that regional trade within the EU accounted for 65 percent of the total in Europe, while that of East Asia was only 35 percent of the total in Asia.

The more that regional trade develops, the faster international trade will grow, said Long, adding that this will greatly benefit China and Asia as a whole. However, the achievement of this goal will probably take five to ten years. For this reason, the Asian countries decided to establish the BFA, which finally set up its headquarters in China.

Long also said that he plans to use his own influence to further economic integration in Asia.

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2003)