China and Japan called for global cooperation on Friday after a financial market rout signalled fear that Europe's debt crisis is spinning out of control and the U.S. economy is in danger of another recession, according to Reuters. The comments from Washington's two biggest foreign creditors pointed to growing concern of contagion as Asian stock markets tumbled following Wall Street's steep dive a day earlier. European markets were expected to open down sharply. French President Nicolas Sarkozy will discuss financial markets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Friday, Sarkozy's office said in a statement. In Japan, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said global policymakers needed to confront currency distortions, the debt crises and concerns about the U.S. economy. "I agree that these subjects should be discussed," he told reporters a day after Japan intervened to sell yen. "Each problem is important, but how to prioritise these issues is something to discuss from here on in." Traders said Japan sold yen for a second consecutive day to try to cap the currency's rise, which puts its exporters at a competitive disadvantage. The yen has become a popular safe-haven bet as concerns about the United States and Europe grow. China Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said U.S. debt risks were escalating and countries should step up cooperation on global economic risks. Yang, who is visiting Poland, called on the United States to adopt "responsible" monetary policies and protect the dollar investments of other nations. The U.S. Federal Reserve holds its next policy-setting meeting on Tuesday, and economists say there is little more it can do to try to spur growth. A flurry of weak economic data and Europe's debt woes have fed fears of a fresh recession, triggering Thursday's sell-off on Wall Street, which was the worst since the global financial crisis. IHS Global Insight said there was now a 40 percent chance the United States could slip into recession. -- SPA
