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[quote=MARRIE,378577]By Li Xiaokun (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-29 09:07

SHANGHAI: Japan's proposal of an East Asian community of nations based on the European Union received a warm response from China after the Japanese foreign minister reintroduced the idea Monday.

A potential snag between Japan and China, experts say, lies in what countries should be included in the community.

Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama made a splash in late August with his vision of an East Asian community to unify the region, possibly under a single currency. The proposal was first reported in the New York Times.

Hatoyama also raised the idea to President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, Pa., last week.

Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada met with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and discussed the proposal of an East Asian community. The two are in Shanghai for a meeting with Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan from the Republic of Korea (ROK) to prepare for a summit of the three nations' premiers in Beijing on Oct 10.

Okada said Japan will continue to follow an open style of regionalism, actively push forward diplomacy in Asia and strive to construct an East Asian community," according to a press release from the Foreign Ministry after the meeting between the two foreign ministers.

Yang said: "China will continue its receptive attitude on East Asian cooperation with relevant sides," in the release.

"China was among the first batch of countries to advocate and support the construction of an East Asian community and has actively engaged in East Asian cooperation and its integration process," he said in the statement.

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