Beijing - The first Asia-Europe Meeting was held in 1996 in Bangkok as informal talks among 16 European Union members and 10 Asian nations.

The seventh summit this year has grown to include 45 delegations: the European Union's 27 members, 16 Asian states as well as the European Commission and the secretariat of the 10-nation Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The participants represent more than half the world: 58 per cent of its population, 60 per cent of its trade and 50 per cent of its economic performance.

The meeting, being held in Beijing this year, has seen its importance rise steadily over its 12-year history, particularly because of Asia's rapid economic growth. Japan and China, the continent's largest economies, have been joined since 2006 by India and Pakistan as participants at the summit.

The other Asian countries participating are South Korea, Mongolia and the ASEAN states: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Asia-Europe Meeting is held every two years and is convened to discuss crises and economic issues as well as culture and interreligious dialogue. Strong differences of opinion often divide its participants on issues such as human rights, trade and climate change.

Diplomats describe the informal framework of the meeting, which ends with only a declaration by the chairman and host, as its advantage while critics find fault with it because it produces no concrete results. (dpa)