Asia, Europe join hands to face challenges
CHINA: The 7th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), due to open Friday in
Beijing, will mark another important international event to be hosted by
the Chinese capital after the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics.
The event comes at a time when the international community faces
grave financial challenges.
The ASEM, founded in 1996, is a high-level and large-scale
inter-governmental forum between the two continents.
Over the past 12 years, ASEM has created favorable conditions for the
social and economic development of the two continents by strengthening
dialogue, understanding and cooperation, helping establish a new type of
all-around Asia-Europe partnership.
The forum has achieved fruitful results in the fields of political
dialogue, economic cooperation, and social and cultural exchanges.
The current global financial crisis is taking an increasingly serious
turn, and other world issues like energy, climate change and food safety
also pose a challenge to the international community.
At this crucial time, representatives of the 45 ASEM members will
gather in Beijing to exchange views and coordinate positions on major,
emergent international issues, a significant move that shows the two
continents’ determination to join hands to cope with global challenges.
The 7th ASEM, with “Vision and Action: Towards a Win-Win Solution” as
its theme and the international economic and financial situation topping
its agenda, will be an important opportunity for Asia and Europe to
jointly deal with the financial crisis through mutual dialogue and
cooperation.
The global financial turmoil, triggered by the subprime crisis in the
United States, is threatening the healthy, stable development of the
world economy.
Whether Asian and European nations will make contributions to a
solution to the crisis has become the focus of the international
community.
Asia and Europe have had a successful experience and set good
examples in dealing with financial challenges together. When the Asian
financial crisis broke in 1997, participants at the 2nd ASEM in London
in 1998 decided to establish the Asia-Europe trust fund, which served to
help Asian countries restore financial stability and eliminate the
social impact of the crisis.
Faced with the financial crisis, China has pledged not to depreciate
the renminbi and made important contributions to easing the situation.
At present, although the global financial crisis is intensifying, the
Asian and European countries, with their stronger economic power and
greater experience, have agreed to unite and ride out this difficult
time together with firm conviction.
BEIJING, Friday, Xinhua |