Struggling Asian economies came away from a Washington meeting on the global economic crisis with a promise of more access to financing from international organizations that analysts said Sunday should help credit-starved exporters and calm markets from South Korea to India. Leaders of major industrialized and developing nations meeting Saturday also pledged to give developing countries a bigger role in global financial bodies _ a move long sought by China. Beijing welcomed the step but gave no indication whether it might respond by heeding appeals to use its $2 trillion in reserves to help expand a global bailout fund. The Group of 20 leaders promised to expand access for developing countries to financing through the International Monetary Fund and other bodies, though they gave no figures on the possible size of lending or other details. “We have seen evidence of trade financing, as well as financing more generally for emerging markets, deteriorate,” said Michael Buchanan, chief Asia economist for Goldman Sachs. “If the G-20 and IMF and donor countries can provide financing, that will help to alleviate that. That will be very significant.” Exporters throughout Asia that depend on credit to pay for raw materials and to finance shipments say business has plunged as access to lending dries up. Access to IMF loans could help governments in South Korea, India, Indonesia and other economies where investor anxiety about a possible scarcity of foreign currency has driven down exchange rates, said Citigroup economist Yiping Huang. South Korea's won has fallen by 33 percent against the US dollar this year as investors pulled capital out of the country. With a commitment to make money available, “in the short term we won't see such drastic changes in the currency,” Huang said. China welcomed the meeting as a step toward changes in international financial bodies. “It will help to enhance the international community's confidence to deal with the financial crisis and concerns about development questions,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement. There was no mention of a possible Chinese contribution to an IMF bailout fund, which prime ministers Gordon Brown of Britain and Taro Aso of Japan have both called for. Aso has pledged $100 billion for the fund. Chinese officials say the most important step they can take for global growth is to keep China's own economy stable. “China's economic power is growing, so China could contribute and help ease the financial crisis,” said Wu Jinglian, a prominent Chinese economist and Cabinet adviser. “But the first priority is to keep our own economy growing. That will benefit every country in the world.” In Japan, the country's biggest business group called on the government to take action on a stimulus plan announced last month. “The government must swiftly implement this, and help the economy recovery as soon as possible,” the Japan Business Federation said in a statement. For South Korea, the meeting gave President Lee Myung-bak a chance to calm unease at home by being seen working alongside other leaders after a year of turmoil that has fed feelings of isolation among South Koreans.
