Soros should be held responsible for the financial crisis that has swept across Asian countries, says a commentary in Peoples Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China.

Even as China was trying its best to prevent the spread of financial flu to its own economy, the commentary points out that Soros, who has been cursed as arch-criminal of economic crisis, is showing of his double character as a thinker and a speculator.

As a speculator, Soros cannot resist the temptation of money which can be earned without efforts, it says while pointing out that some 20 years of economic achievements of some Southeast Asian countries have been shattered overnight.

As a thinker, he seizes unstable factors at play in the global financial system and then initiates the crisis, pushing many countries into abyss, itsays.

But it notes that Soros himself has caught up in the Russian financial turmoil and that he is beginning to realise the explosive panic hidden in global financial system.

The paper has also urged Japan and United States to do more as big economic powers to counter the negative impact of Asian financial turmoil rather than dealing with military issues in bilateral talks.

Commenting on recent talks between Japanese prime minister Keizo Obuchi and US president Bill Clinton, it noted that talks did not yield any substantial progress on how to pull Japan out of the financial trouble. It seems that the two countries are more preoccupied with military issues than economic problems capable of triggering a heavy political disturbance if not handled properly, the commentary said while noting that Japan and US have agreed to develop a new missile defence system.