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Governments around the world, including here in Asia, have spent vast sums of money in shielding their economies from the worst of the global financial crisis. In Hong Kong, we have spent some US$11.2 billion on economic stimulus measures. That is equivalent to about 5.2 per cent of our GDP. We have taken extraordinary steps to guarantee bank deposits, support small and medium enterprises and provide additional capital to the banking sector if required. Other economies have taken similar action.
世界各国政府，包括亚洲在内，已经投入了大量资金防止其经济走向全球金融危机的最坏境地。香港也已投入了112亿美元用于经济刺激措施，这相当于香港GDP的5.2%。我们还采取了特别措施保证银行存款，支持中小企业发展，必要时还向银行部门提供了额外资金。其他经济体也都采取了类似的措施。
Now is the time for Governments to start co-ordinating exit strategies from these stimulus measures. A lack of co-ordination may lead to imbalances and financial instability that could hurt our region. The risk of inflation and fiscal shortfalls as well as changing investment appetites also poses policy challenges for the region.
现在政府部门应该开始协调这些刺激措施的退出策略。缺乏协调可能会导致地区不平衡和金融不稳定，对地区发展不利。通胀的风险，财政的短缺以及不断变化的投资偏好，同样也会给地区带来政策性挑战。
Against this backdrop we have seen the spirit of co-operation gaining momentum. Asian economies – individually and collectively – stand to benefit from greater co-operation in managing risks, reinforcing systemic resilience, enhancing productivity and ensuring financial stability. By working together, we can lay a solid foundation for sustainable economic development. This way Asia can play a more constructive role in re-engineering and reshaping the global financial architecture.
在这一大背景之下，我们看到了通力合作带来的动力。亚洲的经济体——无论是个体还是集体——都从应对风险、加强制度灵活性、提高生产力、确保金融稳定的全面合作中获益。共同合作能够为经济持续发展奠定扎实的基础。如此一来，亚洲将可以为重塑全球金融体系发挥建设性的作用。
A great example of how we can compete and collaborate at the same time is the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, which was launched on 1st January. The new free trade area rivals the EU (European Union) and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Area) in terms of GDP, trade volumes and population. It marks a new milestone in our region's history of collaboration. Strategically and historically, both the mainland of China and ASEAN are our major trading partners. We have a great deal of experience as a conduit for trade, investment and economic integration within our region.
有一个很好的例子能够说明我们完全可以在竞争的同时展开合作，那就是今年1月成立的中国-东盟自由贸易区。新自由贸易区可以同欧盟、北美自由贸易区竞相匹敌，不论是在国民生产总值、贸易总额还是人口基数上。这是我们区域合作史上的一个新的里程碑。从战略和历史的角度看，中国大陆和东盟都是我们的主要贸易伙伴。我们积累了很多作为区域贸易、投资和经济一体化渠道的经验。
We are a stable and vibrant economy with fundamental strengths that have stood the test of time. These include a simple and low tax regime; high-quality services and free flow of information and capital with no foreign exchange controls. We also have a stable and fully convertible currency as well as a free and open economy buttressed by the rule of law and an independent judiciary. All this has helped to enhance our role in three important areas, namely as a global financial centre in the Asian time zone; as a regional asset management centre and as an offshore centre for Renminbi business.
香港是一个稳定而又充满活力的的经济体系，我们的基础实力经受住了时间的考验。简单的税制、优质的服务、信息和没有外汇管制的资本的自由流动都是香港的优势。我们还有一个稳定和完全可兑换的货币体系，香港的法治和独立的司法制度更为经济的自由开放提供了有力支撑。所有这些都极大地加强了香港在以下三个重要领域的地位，即亚洲的金融中心，地区资金管理中心，和人民币兑换清算中心。
