Living together

摘要

Asked about the prospects for a common East Asian currency, Rodolfo Severino, the secretary-general of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), looks around the room for the youngest person present. "Perhaps in her lifetime," he says. A giant trading block that comprises South-East Asia, Japan, China and South Korea may be 30 years off, but it seems to be on its way. It would bring together one-third of the world's population with a combined gdp of almost $7 trillion at present. That would make it a considerable counterweight to the world's two existing economic powerhouses, the United States and the European Union. In time it might outweigh them.