Making East Asia peaceful, prosperous

Editor's Note: An academic forum on Northeast Asia, "Multicultural Coexistence and Choices for Border Areas", was held at Yanbian University in Yanji, Jilin province, over the weekend. Excerpts from the speeches of some of the participating scholars, put together by China Daily's reporter Cui Shoufeng, follow:

East Asia is one of the most economically advanced regions in the world, but it has not witnessed sufficient economic cooperation between the region's countries. Political hindrance such as a Cold War mentality and the hegemonistic attitude of the US and Japan are primarily to blame for that.

Hence, Beijing's benign relationship with Washington and Tokyo should be seen as a major boost to the region's stability, even though it hinges on further growth in China's comprehensive strength.