There are many countries in the world that when they reached the middle-income stage, they witnessed serious structural problems such as growth stagnation, a widening wealth gap and increasing social unrest.

The market is the creator of social wealth and the wellspring of self-sustaining economic development.

Urbanization is not about simply increasing the number of urban residents or expanding the area of cities. More importantly, it's about a complete change from rural to urban style in terms of industry structure, employment, living environment and social security.

In my view, Asian countries have learnt the lessons from the past and significantly enhanced their capabilities to fend off risks.

In fighting the debt crisis, E.U. countries have enhanced co-operation and carried out reform with tremendous courage. This is laudable.

Many people in the world believe that in the 21st century, the Asia-Pacific - Asia in particular - will play a more important role in global economy and politics and that Asia will become an important engine for the world economy.