Southeast Asian leaders were upbeat Thursday about progress made on an ambitious plan to weld the region into a European Union-style economic community as a counterweight to Asian powerhouse China, while efforts were stalling on South China Sea disputes.

Japan and the United States have agreed on a deal to allow Tokyo to join talks on a U.S.-led Asia-Pacific free trade pact that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making a keystone of his strategy to open Japan's economy and spur long-sought growth.

Asian economies have shown a greater interdependency, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Leaders of five of the world's emerging economic powers agreed Wednesday to create a development bank to help fund their US$4.5 trillion infrastructure plans — a direct challenge to the World Bank, which they accuse of Western bias.

Leaders from the BRICS group of emerging powers on Wednesday were to unveil a scaled-back plan to challenge Western supremacy at global institutions like the World Bank.

East Asia's four Tiger Economies dominated Asia's economic competitiveness ranking in 2012, while the Chinese mainland kept 10th place for the third year in a row, according to a report released on Tuesday by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

Leaders from the BRICS emerging nations are expected to launch a joint development bank to rival Western-dominated institutions at a summit beginning Tuesday.

Asia's tourism industry must prepare for major changes in the next 20 years, including a projected boom in travel by senior citizens and female business executives, a study said Tuesday.

Anil Wadha, India's ambassador to Thailand, is bullish that the two countries will conclude their comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in the next few months after some delays in 2012.

Shin Cheol-soo no longer sees his future in the United States.