The Silk Road, a 2,000-year-old prosperous business link between Asia and Europe, is taking on a new life in a climate of strengthening trade and economic co-operation.

The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), has created "a new Silk Road," said Taiichiro Nishikawa, Senior Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, at the 5th ASEM Economic Ministers' Meeting (EMM5).

He said the Asian financial crisis in 1997 showed that national boundaries were no longer important and a single country's effort was very limited in an integrated global economy.

Frequent terrorist attacks, the Iraq War and the SARS outbreak, as well as the European Union's eastward expansion, have brought wide-ranging impacts on free trade and investment for each country.

"More have realized that to enhance Asia-Europe co-operation is very important and necessary, with the speeding up of the integration of the two continents," Nishikawa said.

His remarks were echoed by most European participants. Adolfo Urso, Italian deputy minister of industry, said countries in different economic regions must explore external markets in a bid to benefit their internal economies by reducing trade barriers and tariffs.

"We need a concerted policy to benefit all the 25 members of the ASEM," Urso said, adding that every member shoulders the obligation to open their market to others so as to strengthen their competitiveness, Urso said.

The EU is now China's third largest trade partner, with Japan, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Republic of Korea ranking the first, fifth and sixth respectively.

Kerk Choo Ting, Malaysian deputy minister of international trade and industry, said China, which has become one of the strongest economies in the world, should play two important roles in the future.

To promote balanced economic co-operation with the rest of the world, and work as an important bridge to share opportunities and meet challenges along with its trade partners.

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