Geithner Encouraged By Moves In Japan, China

MALCOLM FOSTER

TOKYO (AP) — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday he's encouraged by efforts in Japan and China to spur domestic demand instead of relying so heavily on American consumers — a shift that will contribute to more stable global growth.

Geithner said he sees broad recognition among governments to create policies that will lead to more balanced, sustainable growth and avoid the kind of dangerous imbalances that contributed to the world recession.

"We're very, very encouraged to see what's happening here in terms of a broad reform agenda ... to try to produce an economy more dependent on domestic sources of growth," Geithner said in Tokyo on his way to joining Pacific Rim finance ministers meeting in Singapore for the annual APEC summit.

If the world economy is to grow in a stable way, he said, "it's going to be less driven by the American consumer. You need to see a change in the sources of growth."

Economic cooperation is expected to be a key agenda item during President Barack Obama's visit to Tokyo on Friday and Saturday that will also address security and climate change. Japan is Obama's first stop on an Asian tour that will take him to China and South Korea next week after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Singapore this weekend.