BUDAPEST, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The growing importance of the contribution of Asia and China to the global economic growth was the focus of a session of the Lamfalussy Lectures Conference 2018 organized here on Monday by the Hungarian Central Bank MNB.

Alicia Herrero, senior fellow at European think-tank BRUEGEL, said: "Asia is dominating in contribution to global growth, middle class and even the corporate world now," underlining that "63 percent of global economic growth came from Asia, versus only 12 percent from Europe and 10 percent from North America."

She said China and India would continue to contribute more to global economic growth than the United States and much more than Europe. For these reasons, she explained that the improvement of European Union-China relations was a key to benefit from the "Asian century."

Herrero was followed by Park In-kook, president of the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies. He noted that China had announced a shift from "quantity to quality" in terms of its economic growth.

"The urbanization rate is on the rise in China, over 56 percent, and the aim is to reach 60 percent by 2020, he underlined. "This means that 300 to 400 million people will escape the poverty trap and become middle class citizens."

Sandor Lamfalussy, whose name the conference bears, was a European economist of Hungarian origin who was often referred to as "the wise man of the euro" in professional circles in recognition of the crucial role he played in the establishment of the European Economic and Monetary Union.