Asia with its rapid economic development has become the engine of the World economic growth, said a co-chair of the World Economic Forum's Asia Roundtable in Singapore on Thursday.

Jiang Jianqing, also chairman and president of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, said that average economic growth in the Asian developing countries last year was 7.3 percent, much higher than the 4 percent in the world, and Asia will continue leading the world economy.

Jiang pointed out that the Asian economic growth has entered into a new era. There used to be Japan and "four tigers" in Asia --Singapore, South Korea, China's Taiwan Province and Hong Kong.

China has an annual growth rate of 9.45 percent in the past 25 years and India began to develop fast in the 1990's. The two countries have become the engine of Asia's economic development.

Jiang said that Asian and the world economies must develop harmoniously. The slow-down of the United States and European economies, and the rise of oil prices will have some negative effect on Asia, while Asian development will have great impact on the recovery of the world economy. So in the background of globalization, it is necessary to promote harmonious development of Asian and world economies.

Jiang also called for balanced, co-ordinary growth in the face of problems in environment, energy, natural resources, employment, gaps between rural and urban areas.

As the head of a leading Chinese bank, Jiang stressed importance of financial stability to the sustainability of

economic development. He said China is reforming the financial system and he believed a healthy financial system will emerge in China soon.

Jiang was speaking at the Asia Roungtable's Forum "The Strategic Impact of Asia's Economic Growth" Thursday morning. The theme of the two-day roundtable is "Tilting The Global Balance: The strategic Impact of Asia's Growth."