The financial crisis may have shocked world leaders into taking seriously their own commitments to more global co-ordination in economic affairs, but getting from talk to action remains an uphill struggle. This makes progress on regional co-operation all the more pressing. The opinion of Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank, that “east Asian countries are well advised to start a serious effort to co-operate” on currencies deserves a hearing.

The East Asia summit, where Mr Kuroda made his remarks, caps a year of advances in cross-border co-operation among Asian and Pacific nations. One – a notch on Mr Kuroda’s own belt – was the agreement by ADB shareholders to triple its capital to $165bn.