"Before the current international economic crisis, Asian policymakers deferred to their Western counterparts. The enormous blunders since committed by the US and Europe mean deference has been replaced by disquiet. Asia's concern is that the world will soon come to grief if both the US and Europe fail to make fundamental readjustments. An America and EU that takes serious economic measures will cause the rest of the world pain, as Western consumption and imports diminish. But there is no painless solution: only when the West gets its house in order can Asia hope for a more sustainable future"--