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Leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Co-operation (APEC) forum have pledged to establish  a regional free-trade area. The agreement was announced on Sunday at the end of a two-day summit held in Yokohama of Japan. The initiative would link the world's three biggest economies - the United States, Japan and China. However, deep differences remain - chiefly between the US and China - over trade imbalances and currency distortions. The USA aims to increase their exports to the region and considers China's cheap currency is a barrier to that goal. Chinese President Hu Jintao has said any change will only be made at Beijing's own pace. In their final declaration, APEC leaders reaffirmed their "unwavering commitment to achieving free and open trade and investment in the region". They also pledged to take "concrete steps toward realising a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific", but gave no timetable. The declaration - entitled Yokohama Vision - also rej...

"We demand Japan return the Chinese captain unconditionally and immediately. If Japan continues to take the wrong course, China will take strong counter-measures and Japan will have to take all the consequences", Chinese foreign ministry statement said. China had warned it would be taking "strong measures" against Japan after a court in Okinawa, southern Japan, said the sailor could be held for a further 10 days. China has closed top-level exchanges with Japan in a row over the detention of a Chinese ship captain following a collision near disputed islands. The disputed islands are known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Chinese state media said ministerial and provincial-level contacts had been suspended, including talks on aviation and coal. Earlier, a Japanese court extended the detention of the captain, held after the collision in the East China Sea. A foreign ministry statement read out on Chinese state television said the decision had "serious...

The yen rose and was on track for its fourth consecutive monthly advance against the dollar on Tuesday, its longest winning streak in 19 months, as investors shrugged off Japan's latest easing move. Demand for the safe-haven currency rose in the past month as U.S. Treasury yields tumbled amid mounting signs the economic recovery in the United States was faltering. The rapid advance, which pushed the yen to a 15-year high this month, prompted Japanese authorities to announce measures on Monday to curb the yen's strength to protect the country's exports. Traders and analysts saw the central bank's moves as a symbolic gesture that will do little to halt the climb. They said that short of direct intervention in the foreign exchange markets, the yen is bound to test its all-time high of 79.75 yen set in April 1995, according to Reuters data. "The policy action by the BoJ isn't going to change the market's mood. It would probably take intervention to shake things...