The seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit started at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday afternoon, Oct. 24, 2008.

BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday described Asia-Europe cooperation as the best option of the two continents for win-win progress under the current circumstances.

"As economic globalization is gaining momentum, the future of Asia and Europe has been increasingly tied to the future of the whole world, and cooperation between Asia and Europe for win-win progress is our best option," Hu said when addressing the opening ceremony of the Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

It was therefore most fitting to choose "Vision and Action: Towards a Win-Win Solution" as the theme of this meeting, for it served the need of the current Asia-Europe relations, he added.

Asia and Europe were undergoing profound changes and adjustments, he noted.

"With general political stability and vigorous development of various regional and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms, Asia has become one of the world's most dynamic regions in terms of development. Europe has made further progress in integration and external cooperation and is playing a greater role in international affairs," Hu said.

At the same time, he added, Asia and Europe were still confronted with many problems and challenges in their pursuit of peace and development. Local conflicts and hot-spot issues cropped up from time to time and traditional and non-traditional security threats were intertwined.

"In particular, we are going through a period when global economic development faces severe challenges from the international financial turmoil, the serious problems concerning energy and food security, and greater inflationary pressure," Hu said.

The two-day ASEM has attracted leaders and delegates from 45 Asian and European countries and organizations.