BOAO, Hainan, April 22 (Xinhua) - Boasting about half of the world population, Asia has entered a rising period on the world economic stage and Asian countries face historic opportunities to further cooperation and cooperative development, said experts attending the 2005 Annual Conference of Boao Forum.

   Asian countries share common interests and they all put economic development on the prior agendas of their national
development, said Zhou Jianming, director of the research institute on the Asia-Pacific region at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

   Big changes have occurred in Asia, especially east Asia, since the 1950s. The percentage occupied by Asian countries in the world gross domestic products (GDP) rose from 20 percent in the early 1950s to 37 percent in 1992.

   The Asian Development Bank predicted that in 2025, Asia would account for 57 percent of the world GDP. Asia has become a more and more important part of the world economy, said Zhou Jianming.

   Apart from the economic growth, the rise of Asia on the international stage can also be attributed to the trend of
integration within the region, said Zhou Hong, director of European research institute of the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences.

   China and ASEAN have set the timetable to build the world largest free trade zone in the world by 2010. Meanwhile, China, the Republic of Korea and Japan are studying the possibilities for a free trade zone area among the three nations.

   With regional construction, Asia will become a stronger and stronger economic power as a whole, said Zhou Hong. 

   Regional economic integration will enlarge the scale of trade and economy in Asia and the region will see faster growth with a stronger momentum, the expert said.

   Despite of the optimistic views on Asia's peaceful rise, experts also warned of the challenges that might slow down or even hinder the fast growth of the region.

   The future economic growth of Asia is dependent on energy resources, especially petroleum, the limits of which pose big threat to China, said Michael Rich, executive vice president of American Rand Corporation, a international consultative company and think tank.

   Though China has enforced exploration of domestic oil resources, it still relies heavily on imports in oil supply. Government statistics show that last year, about 40 percent of China's oil supply was from imports.

   Other problems also baffle the region. Statistics from the World Bank show that there are more than 700 million people in Asia under the poverty line, comprising about two thirds of the world's poor.

   Furthermore, many countries are not got off the road of high costs and heavy pollution. Large populations also brings pressures of employment to the region, said Zhou Jianming.

   Economic globalization has not only meant opportunity, it has also brought heated competition, making it more difficult for developing countries to rise, experts said.

   Asia's modernization has just started and it will take years to accomplish, said Zhang Yijun, former Chinese Ambassador to Canada. Enditem