China hopes the upcoming Asia-Europe Meeting summit (ASEM) in Denmark will expand cooperation between the two continents and find effective ways to promote world peace and development, said a senior Chinese foreign ministry official yesterday in Beijing.

Wang Xuexian, China's Senior Official for the ASEM, said that China attaches great importance to the summit and has put forward many proposals for the meeting, which will be held in Copenhagen from September 22 to 24.

China proposes that leaders attending the summit discuss ways of fighting terrorism as well as launching dialogue among different civilizations, Wang said.

Premier Zhu Rongji will attend the ASEM meeting as well as a parallel summit between China and the European Union (EU). Zhu will also pay official visits to Austria, Denmark and France.

China and the EU share a consensus on fighting terrorism. Terrorism cannot be effectively dealt with if countries depend solely on military actions, Wang added.

"We hope leaders attending the summit can find common ground and take practical actions (to fight terrorism)," he said.

The richness of the cultural diversity in Asia and Europe should be a source of unity instead of conflict, he added.

That's why China together with other countries proposes to launch dialogues among different groups.

To facilitate these goals, ASEM members are expected to hold a seminar on fighting terrorism and a conference on cultures and civilizations in Beijing some time next year, according to Wang.

In economics, China hopes that leaders exchange information and make joint efforts to "revitalize the world economy," said Wang.

When the summit meeting is concluded, leaders are expected to publish a Chairmen's Statement and release two political documents: the Political Declaration on Cooperation against Terrorism and the Political Declaration for Peace in the Korean Peninsula, Wang said.

The biennial ASEM summit gathers together the heads of state or government from seven Southeast Asian nations as well as China, Japan and South Korea and the EU's 15 member countries and the European Commission.

ASEM began in Bangkok in 1996, aimed at enhancing understanding between the two continents. It has been hosted by Britain and South Korea in the past.

In related news, the fifth EU-China summit will be held in Copenhagen on September 24.

Denmark, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU, called it an important milestone in EU-China relations.

Klaus Ebermann, head of the Delegation of the European Commission in China, hopes the current summit meeting will promote bilateral cooperation in politics and economics as well as the fight against illegal immigration.

The fourth EU-China summit was held in Brussels in September 2001.

(China Daily September 19, 2002)