ASEM a precious opportunity for Asia, Europe

Photo taken on Nov 4, 2012 shows the indoor scene of the press center for the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit, in Vientiane, capital of Laos. The press center went into operation on Sunday for more than 700 journalists from different countries. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - The ninth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) that starts on Monday is one of the largest gatherings of top political leaders this year. The biennial session brings together nearly 50 heads of state or government leaders from Eurasia.

Like previous ASEM summits, this year's conference is set to boost mutual understandings among members while serving as a precious opportunity for Asia and Europe to cement their partnership, especially at a time when the global economic recovery is still fragile.

Themed "Friends for Peace, Partners for Prosperity", the summit is expected to devote much of its attention to Asia's rising economies, the sluggish economic recovery worldwide and the sovereign debt problem that continues to vex Europe.

After 16 years of development since its inception in 1996, ASEM now has 48 partners. It accounts for about 60 percent of the world's population and more than 60 percent of all global trade.

One thing notable about the ever-tightening trade link between ASEM partners is that the Asian countries have advanced and are no longer just exporters and recipients of European investment.

Backed by robust domestic growth, the Asian partners have started to buy more goods from their European counterparts and also are becoming active participants in global finance.

As many have observed, the rising economic clout of Asia makes the region more appealing for those looking for credible cooperative partners.

The attraction is especially strong for Europe now, as several EU members are teetering on the verge of financial collapse following months of unsuccessful efforts to control their debt problems.

Political leaders in Asia understand well that the mounting euro debt issue would ultimately drag down their own economies if the current trend goes unchecked.

It is a reasonable guess that they would be willing to do whatever in their power they can to help Europe survive the debt crisis.

One case in point is China's June contribution of $43 billion to the recapitalization of the International Monetary Fund, one of the key players managing to keep several debt-ridden European countries afloat.

China, now the world's second largest economy, has also made earnest efforts to increase imports from Europe in the past three years since the onset of the financial crisis.

As promised, China will continue to help bring the euro debt crisis to an early end.

However, European leaders need to be reminded that such voluntary assistance is based on the smooth functioning of China's own economy, which could be well affected by increasing protectionist moves from the outside.