European leaders called on their Asian counterparts to help stop workers being exploited and let them profit more from the globalisation that has turned Asia into an economic powerhouse. The opening ceremony of the two-day Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) was held in the Helsinki Fari Centre, Finland, Sunday Sept. 10, 2006.

Sept. 11 - Chinese Premier¹ Wen Jiabao said Sunday in Helsinki that Asian and European countries should deepen their cooperation to jointly² meet new challenges facing the two continents.

Wen made the remarks in a speech at the sixth summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Helsinki, Finland.

Asia and Europe have carried out extensive, diversified³ cooperation and deepened political dialogue over the past decade, he said.

"We enjoy closer economic links, rapidly growing cooperation in social areas and expanding cultural and people-to-people exchanges," Wen said. "ASEM has become a strategic platform for Asia and Europe to strengthen coordination⁴, further cooperation and pursue common development."

He said that today's world is moving towards multi-polarity and that economic globalization is gaining momentum⁵, accompanied by rapid progress in science and technology and ever-closing regional cooperation.

"Peace, cooperation and development are the general trend of our times," said the premier.

Wen, however, noted⁶ that there is also growing instability and discord⁷, as seen in mounting traditional and non-traditional security threats, unbalanced global economic development and a widening gap in wealth.

"Facing these new developments, people naturally place higher expectations on the ASEM summit, and it is imperative⁸ that we adopt a long-term strategy to plan our future cooperation," he said.

Wen arrived in Helsinki on Saturday for the two-day summit, which also marks ASEM's 10th anniversary and gathers heads of state or government from 13 Asian countries and 25 member states of the European Union.