Mr. David Fouquet, Director of Asia-Europe Project, and also a member of Europe-China think tank based in Brussels, has been for more than a decade bent on the Asia-Europe relations studies, and closely observed the high-level forum between governments of Asia and Europe, known as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). When he was recently interviewed by People's Daily, Mr. Fouquet expressed his full expectations towards the upcoming seventh ASEM summit to be held in Beijing from Oct 24 to 25, and deemed China is facing a golden momentum in history.
Mr. Fouquet said the Beijing summit would be convened under the special international circumstances, with financial situation in turbulence and the three challenges—food safety, climate change and energy issues—interwoven. He hoped the summit would provide a momentous opportunity for the leaders from both Asia and Europe and play an effective role in curbing the unfolding financial crisis from getting even worse. Fouquet also compared the approaching Beijing summit to the 1998 London ASEM summit, suggesting the both summits coincide with the international backdrop of financial storms. But he said the London summit had been proved successful in its contributions to the settlement of the financial crisis. Thereby, he hoped the Beijing summit would be equally significant or even more significant in reversing the currently downward world economy.
'China. as a big developing country, is at present facing a historic opportunity to lead the trend of the world in an effort to propel forward the building up of a new and fruitful Asia-Europe partnership.' Fouquet was cited as saying in the interview, and he also hinted that some strategic, global and bilateral issues would be discussed over in the Beijing summit, and were expected to yield some concrete results. But he added it was not an easy job for the 45-member ASEM to reach the consensus in such a short time. Be that as it may, he said, the leaders present would at least work out the guidelines for all the projects concerned under the framework of Asia-Europe cooperation.
Under the theme of dialogue, cooperation, mutual benefit and common prosperity, the summit will touch upon the issues like disaster-relief cooperation, the promotion of trade and investment, sustainable development and strengthening dialogue. Meanwhile, a chairman's statement is expected to be passed to reflect all members' stance on the major issues, outlining the key areas of cooperation in the future. Even so, Mr. Fouquet thought, resorting to a mere good will and some forceful slogans is far from enough to create satisfactory results, as the common action from the two continents is called for to turn out some realistic achievements.
Fouquet supposed that, since established in 1996, the ASEM has exerted some subtle influence upon the countries and people from both continents. The institutes like Asia-Europe Fund, Asia-Europe Business Forum and Asia-Europe Environmental Forum have mushroomed and gained much headway in recent years, greatly impelling the relationship and cooperation between the two continents. Currently, the platform for a more regular Asia-Europe cooperation is being built, on which ministers and experts from both sides can hold seminars in the regular way and exchange ideas more promptly. Summit is indispensable, he said, but the true value for the cross-continent communication must be supplemented by many other facets.
It is learnt that other documents to be passed in the Beijing summit to improve the substantial cooperation will cover three major areas: political, economic cooperation as well as social and cultural exchange.
Mr. Fouquet also touched upon the diversity of civilizations in the interview, saying it has long been a paradox how to maintain the uniqueness of a particular culture but at the same time avoid slipping back into cultural chauvinism. To some extent, he said, cultural promotion is determined by the market, but this would probably lead to the birth of 'cultural empires.' He cited the French boycott to the Hollywood culture as an example, saying the boycott may evolve into an irrational 'cultural protectionism.'
Fouquet elaborated on the issue saying, 'cultural diversity needs more tolerance and respect, as the future for the civilization's progress is hard to predict. But it is reasonable to consent to the tendency that preserving the uniqueness of a particular culture must be in step with pursuing a more modern, more balanced and more natural lifestyle.'
By People's Daily Online
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