WASHINGTON - Asia will play more important role in the process of global economic governance reform, according to a report released by Asian Development Bank and a leading US think tank on Monday.

"The new global economic governance structure will need to be based on representative institutions that reflect the changing economic weight of emerging economies in the global economy," noted Reshaping Global Economic Governance And The Role of Asia In The Group of Twenty (G20), a report jointly prepared by ADB and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "Asia should and will play a greater role on the global stage."

The report said that the rise of emerging market economies heralds a new world order, in which the G20 has become the global economic steering committee.

Since November 2008, the G20 initiated a series of summit meetings to address the critical issue confronted by the global economy. The November 2010 Seoul G20 Summit marked the first time that the group was convened by an Asian or non-Group of Seven (G7) host.

However, the G20 faces a number of new challenges in the wake of crisis, including the uncertainty about the future trajectory of the global economy, adverse developments in European sovereign debt crisis that may test the G20 commitments to restore fiscal sustainability, and the reemergence of widening external imbalances.

The report noted that Asia has led the global recovery and the region will have bigger voice on the global stage, such as shaping the G20 agenda for balanced and sustainable growth through strengthening intraregional trade and stimulating domestic demand.