Summit to address pressing global issues

Asian and European leaders from more than 40 countries are expected to arrive in Beijing on Oct 24 for a two-day summit to address a series of pressing global issues, particularly the current financial crisis.

The seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), themed Action and Vision: Towards a Win-Win Solution, is being viewed as a timely platform for the exchange of constructive ideas and proposals to contain what is perhaps the worst global financial meltdown since the Great Depression, analysts have said.

"The financial issue is clearly going to be on top of the summit's agenda because the US-born crisis has already become a global problem and is substantially impacting both the European and Asian markets," said Pan Guang, professor at the Institute of European and Asian Studies with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.