TOKYO - Asian leaders yesterday mourned Deng Xiaoping's death and said his reforms transforming China into an economic powerhouse had earned him a place among the world's great statesmen.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Ryutaro Hashimoto, said he was filled with great sadness at Deng's death and hoped his passing would not affect crucial Japanese-Sino relations, which he said were of growing importance for peace and stability of the world.
President Kim Young-sam of South Korea said he was saddened but hoped Seoul's friendly ties with Beijing would strengthen. President Kim sent a telegram to President Jiang and Deng's family, hailing the late leader as "an outstanding political leader who opened a new chapter in world history".
The Communist North Korea's de facto leader, Mr Kim Jong-il, praised Deng as an "intimate friend and comrade-in-arms" of the Korean people and said his death was a great loss to them.
India's Foreign Minister, Mr Inder Kumar Gujral, praised Deng for helping to improve ties between the two Asian giants.
In Taiwan the Presidential Office sent its condolences to Deng's family and urged a "peaceful, co-operative, prosperous new era" between Taipei and Beijing.
Vietnam's communist government, which fought a border war with Beijing during the late 1970s, offered formal but brief condolences. Tibet's government-in-exile accused Deng of decades of repression and said his death offered a chance to his successor to solve the region's long-standing problems.