This year’s Asia-Europe Meeting(ASEM) Summit could be summarized in two sentences: Europe hoped Asian partners would be more cooperative to get through the spreading financial crisis; and China promised its economy would remain robust. Given the complementary economic relationship between Asia and Europe, the realization of these hopes will benefit both.
　　 Influence
　　Asia and Europe are interdependent due to the compatibility of their economies. With the looming threat of the global financial crisis, cooperation between Asia and Europe becomes more significant. Being the only intercontinental dialogue mechanism between Asian and European governments, the ASEM Summit is a platform for closer dialogue and more effective cooperation between the two sides. During the ninth summit in Laos’capital of Vientiane from November 5 to 6, leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in dealing with global challenges.
　　The global economy has started to recover. But the recovery is slow and fragile, said Shen Jiru, a senior research fellow on global economic and political studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointing out that how to make the recovery easier is the common task of different countries. “Euro-zone countries, victims of the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis, need cooperation and help from other countries, es- pecially from Asian nations, with which they have high economic compatibility,” he said. According to the latest report released by the International Monetary Fund, the crisis in the euro zone remains the most significant threat the global economy faces.
　　Founded in 1996, ASEM now has a membership that represents half of the world’s population, more than half of the world’s GDP and 55 percent of world trade volume. The figures show the centrality of Asia-Europe relations in today’s world, noted European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. “But more important than statistics and figures is the common political will to jointly address today’s challenges. This relation is indeed key for the world’s prosperity and security,” he said.
　　Geographically, Asia and Europe are on the same continent, the Eurasian continent, so fostering cooperation is a good thing, said Wei Liang, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. He pointed out both economic and strategic advantages of their cooperation.
　　Their population and land area are big enough to form a comprehensive and independent circulatory system, which brings both sides tremendous economic benefits, Wei said. According to statistics from the EU, trade between Asian nations and EU members has grown quickly. From 2000 to 2011, the share of the ASEM partners in EU exports rose from 22 percent to 30 percent, and in imports from 36 percent to 44 percent. “There will be huge room for win-win cooperation between them,” he said.
　　Strengthening Asia-Europe cooperation is also of strategic significance, Wei added. The United States, Europe and emerging Asian economies have been the most influential forces since the outbreak of the global crisis. Cooperation and competition coexist among the three parties, he said.
　　“Competition for economic and financial interests is fiercer between the United States and Europe, the two traditional developed powers,” Wei said. “Strengthening cooperation with Asia will bring benefits to both Europe and Asia.”
　　Speaking of new member states Bangladesh, Switzerland and Norway, Shen believed the fourth expansion of the ASEM membership is a positive move. Bangladesh’s attendance enhances South Asian representation. Switzerland, a permanently neutral state, has great financial strength. And Norway in Northern Europe is an oil producer. “The three countries’ participation will help ASEM play a more influential role on the Eurasian continent, and will be significant for global economic recovery,” Shen said.
　　As Europe sleeps restlessly through the nightmare of the financial crisis, it is now Asia’s turn to serve as an economic growth engine. While global trade and capital flows bring more risks to emerging Asian markets, big Asian economies, such as China, are drawing more attention for their contributions to the global economy. Want it or not, Asia’s influence is on the rise on the Eurasian continent.
　　 Confidence
　　 China’s voice is greatly valued on the world stage, said Shen. The Chinese economy has been developing rapidly. The country actively participates in globalization and integrates with the world economic system, gaining a prominent status in the international community. Shen said,“China now is an indispensable partner in the global division of labor. And it is also indispensable in Asia-European cooperation.”
　　While promising its economic growth will remain robust, China, a representative of emerging Asian economies, calls for fair trade and sound economic governance.
　　“Being a responsible country, China has managed its own affairs well, restored its economy to stability and achieved steady and fairly fast growth in the shortest time possible,” Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in his keynote speech to the ASEM Summit. He stressed that China is an important engine for world economic growth and has played a crucial role in driving the global economic recovery. “We not only have confidence in meeting the development targets set for this year, but also have confidence, conditions and abilities to achieve development of a bet- ter quality, at a higher level and in the longer run,” Wen noted.
　　Wen said as long as Asia and Europe cooperate with each other closely, they can certainly be able to shoulder the responsibility of promoting the steady growth of the world economy. “China has taken a crucial role in global economic governance, helped push forward the reform of the international financial system and extended a helping hand to countries with economic difficulties,” he said.
　　To promote steady growth for the global economy, Wen made a four-point proposal to other leaders: Free, open and fair international trade is an important driving force for world economic growth; enhancing macroeconomic policy coordination remains an important task; innovation in science and technology is a fundamental way to get out of the crisis; and a sound global economic governance system is an institutional guarantee for world economic growth.
　　Wei pointed out that as ASEM serves as a platform for communication, it will help create a positive interaction between Europe and emerging Asian economies like China by solving frictions between the two sides, so as to guarantee common development for Europe and Asia.
　　Wei believed that China will play a bigger role in ASEM. “Collective action is always clumsier than bilateral or multilateral interactions,” he said. “Several core members that have made bigger contributions and provided more public goods will help guide the collective action of ASEM.”
　　 Expanding Membership
　　 Founded in March 1996, ASEM is an intergovernmental dialogue forum between Asia and Europe with the goal of establishing a new-type comprehensive partnership through enhanced dialogue and cooperation. It was founded with 26 members, including seven ASEAN nations (Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and Viet Nam), China, Japan, South Korea, 15 EU states and the European Commission. ASEM has become a 51-member organization after four expansions:
　　The first—October 2004, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and 10 new EU members
　　The second—September 2006, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, the ASEAN Secretariat, Bulgaria and Romania
　　The third—October 2010, Russia, Australia and New Zealand
　　The fourth—November 2012, Bangladesh, Switzerland and Norway