Beijing wants to open full negotiations on a free trade agreement with Japan and South Korea next year, Chinese state media said Monday, amid growing rivalry with the United States.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday Beijing would offer its Southeast Asian neighbors US$10 billion in infrastructure loans, as he sought to deepen trade ties in the region.

ASEAN leaders meeting in Bali this week will pledge to chart a united stand on global issues over the coming decade, to collectively give the 10 members a better chance of influencing what happens in the region.

The eurozone debt crisis will hit growth in Asia's developing economies this year and next as the key trade zone cuts back export orders, a senior Asian Development Bank (ADB) official said Monday.

Pacific Rim leaders gathered for an annual summit in Hawaii pledged Saturday to work together to keep world growth on track, as U.S. President Barack Obama announced the broad outlines of a plan to create a trans-Pacific free trade zone.

U.S. President Barack Obama signed a bill Saturday making it easier for U.S. business travelers to access Asia-Pacific nations more freely and quickly.

U.S. President Barack Obama Saturday canvassed the leaders of skeptical Russia and China after calling for new sanctions and isolation for Iran over revelations about its nuclear program.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday urged Japan to put trade before politics on a long-running island dispute as Japan's prime minister urged him to enter new talks.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday vowed to expand the nation's engagement in the Asia-Pacific region by building trade ties, reinforcing alliances and continuing to press for democratic reforms in authoritarian nations like China and Vietnam.

Asia-Pacific business leaders laid out a plan Thursday to restore global economic growth focused specifically on boosting finance to small- and medium-sized enterprises.