Asia-Europe leaders call for cooperation

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BEIJING, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Asian and European leaders said Saturday they will work cooperatively to tackle the financial crisis threatening the economies of both continents.

The vow came at the end of a two-day Asia-Europe Meeting in Beijing, which saw leaders of 43 Asian and European countries consult with the chiefs of the European Commission and ASEAN, a group of southeastern Asian nations, CNN reported.

"Europe and Asia have come together in Beijing at a time of global crisis, and indeed, we are in a moment where we need global teamwork," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told the broadcaster, adding, "We either stick together or we sink together."

Summit attendees on Friday called for new rules to govern international finance and urged a more expansive role for the International Monetary Fund in helping countries such as Iceland and Pakistan, whose finances have put them in imminent economic peril.

"We need even more financial regulation to ensure financial stability," Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told reporters. "We need to properly handle the relationship between savings and consumption, or accumulation and consumption. We need to keep savings and consumption at a normal, balanced and coordinated relationship with each other."