As business leaders from Westchester County mingled with their counterparts yesterday from China, South Korea, Japan, Scotland and Australia at an international business conference, there were differences in languages but common anxieties about the direction of the global economy.

Stock markets across the world have plunged for months as an economic crisis spread like a virus from the United States to countries rich and poor. The downward spiral in the markets continued yesterday as the 120 attendees at the ninth annual Global Digital City Network Conference were given presentations focused on technology.

Grayson Perry, who traveled 20 hours from Australia to Westchester for the conference, said the meeting at the Hilton Rye Town was a good place to share survival strategies with attendees from other countries. Australia’s stock market is down about 40 percent for the year, compared with a drop of 42 percent for the S&P 500 index in the United States.

“A conference such as this is really an opportunity to find solutions,” said Perry, manager of economic development for the Gold Coast City Council in Australia. “We are talking to other city delegates who are here to look at how they are riding out the economic strains in their own cities to see if there are any answers for us.”

Organizers said that attendance was probably lower than normal this year because businesses were reluctant to pay for the trip at a time of economic uncertainty and depressed sales.

Amy Allen, managing director for advocacy and international business at the Westchester County Association, said there is an acknowledgement among delegates that the crisis is a universal problem.

“The world is seeing the same impact that we are seeing in the States,” Allen said. “People are looking for new and different ways to develop business. If you can do it virtually or by coming to a conference like this, it can be vital, especially during challenging times.”

The growth of the Internet, instantaneous communications and international trade helped bring the world closer together and lift billions of people out of poverty. That was the bright message presented during a formal presentation by Thomas Moebus, a vice president at the Levin Graduate Institute of International Relations in New York City.

But after his speech, Moebus added that the world might be at a crossroads in which the financial crisis could cause serious damage.

“There’s not going to be as much credit available,” Moebus said. “The free flow of capital around the world will slow. A lot of people’s plans for expansion are going to be cut back. Overall spending is going to be cut back.”