Asia-Pacifc: Fueling World Economy

By Staf Editor Xia Hailin



Asia-Pacifc: Fueling World Economy

By Staf Editor Xia Hailin

From November 17 to 19， 2015， Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 23rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Manila. With the theme “building inclusive economies， and building a better world”， the meeting focused on regional economic integration， small and medium-sized enterprises， human capital development and sustainable growth.

Other regional leaders， including US President Barack Obama， South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev， attended the meeting.

Asia-Pacifc region still the locomotive driving the world economy

On November 19， President Xi said: “Although facing various challenges， the Asia-Pacifc region is still the locomotive driving the world economy.” He urged all APEC members to make use of the regional platform and step up win-win cooperation so as to maintain this role.

President Xi looked back at the APEC Summit in Beijing in 2014， where the 21 members inked a blueprint on enhancing physical， institutional and people-to-people connections by 2025， and also ofcially launched the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacifc （FTAAP） process. “As we gather again one year on， our goal is still to deepen Asia-Pacifc cooperation and promote common development of the region.”

Stressing that Asia-Pacifc economies should continue to improve the framework for regional medium- and long-term cooperation， he pointed out that reform and innovation were needed to provide new growth impetus. He called for joint eforts to push forward the transition in the growth model and economic restructuring and deepen cooperation in areas of great potential， such as urbanization，Internet economy and the blue （marine） economy.

Meanwhile， “we need to advance regional integration and build an open Asia-Pacific economy，” he said，urging APEC members to complete the construction of the FTAAP at an early date. He suggested that all related members should stay open and inclusive， seek cooperation for mutual benefit and safeguard the multilateral trade regime.

As to regional connectivity， President Xi called on Asia-Pacifc economies to continue to earnestly carry out the blueprint created in Beijing so as to break through bottlenecks in regional development.

The 23rd APEC economic leaders' meeting in Manila， the Phillipines.

Calling the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank（AIIB） an important platform supporting regional connectivity， President Xi said China and other related countries are accelerating the preparations and the bank is expected to be formally established by the end of 2015. Te Belt and Road Initiative was also making steady progress， and the Silk Road Fund project was already in operation. In addition， China stood ready to make continuous efforts in strengthening APEC's capacity building.

Referring to China's 13th Five-Year Program （2016-2020） adopted at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee， President Xi reaffirmed China's commitment to innovative， coordinated，green， open and shared development. “China has the resolve， confdence and ability to realize sustained and healthy economic development and bring more opportunities and benefts to the Asia-Pacifc region.” said the President.

Emphasizing that APEC should take the lead in inclusive regional development，President Xi urged all members to stick to fair， open， comprehensive and innovative development and focus on helping developing member economies carry out personnel training and increase input in their public welfare sectors.

He called for concerted action in dealing with poverty， stressing that trade and investment liberalization and facilitation， as well as connectivity building， should benefit those living in poverty.

President Xi suggested eforts be made to improve both the quality and the benefits of development and advance green and low-carbon development. China is willing to work with other countries to reach an ambitious agreement at the upcoming Paris climate conference under the principles of common but diferentiated responsibilities， fairness and respective capabilities.

At the end of the meeting， the APEC leaders jointly issued a Declaration， in which they reaffirmed their commitment to jointly building an open economy in the Asia-Pacifc region based on innovative development， interconnected growth， and shared interests.

“In spite of the challenges we face， the future of our region will be bright as we stand true to our pledge to shape the future through Asia-Pacific partnership， with a view to fulfilling our goals of common development，prosperity， and progress.” Te declaration also highlighted the role of the FTAAP as the main force to promote regional integration， and welcomed the progress in implementing the APEC Connectivity Blueprint for 2015-2025.

Te leaders also called for increased international cooperation and solidarity in the fght against terrorism since Russia and France had just faced terror attacks and a Chinese national was murdered by the Islamic State extremist group.

“Under the shadow cast by the terrorist attacks in Paris， Beirut， and against Russian aircraf over Sinai， and elsewhere， we strongly condemn all acts， methods， and practices of terrorism in all their forms and manifestations. We will not allow terrorism to threaten the fundamental values that underpin our free and open economies. Economic growth， prosperity， and opportunity are among the most powerful tools to address the root causes of terrorism and radicalization.”

At a press briefing after the Meeting，Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the important ideas President Xi had put forward had charted the course for Asia-Pacific economic growth and were echoed in the Declaration.

President Xi called for more openness

President Xi attended the APEC CEO Summit on November 18. Over 800 delegates， including regional economic leaders， entrepreneurs and businessmen from small and medium enterprises attended the summit with a theme of “creating the future: better， stronger， together”， and guided by APEC's commitment to improve people's quality of life.

At the CEO Summit， President Xi delivered a keynote speech， in which he expressed confidence in China's economy while expounding on his suggestions for achieving regional growth.

President Xi said the overall economy of China was operating within a reasonable range and had maintained steady and fairly rapid growth， achieving a growth rate of 6.9 percent in the first three quarters this year and contributing about 30 percent to global economic growth. “With global growth slowing down，China is working vigorously to overcome diffculties and meet challenges by strengthening macro regulation and effectively advancing reforms. In general， China's positive economic fundamentals and long-term trajectory remain unchanged. What also remains unchanged is the basic fact that China economic had strong resilient， great potential， and ample room for maneuver. Te strong support and conditions favorable for continued growth remains unchanged， such as the forward movement of the country's economic restructuring and upgrading. The Chinese economy is still coping with a complicated internal and external environment， considerable downward pressure and the temporary pains of deep reforms. Te opportunities are unprecedented and the challenges are unprecedented，” he said.

He called for concerted efforts to boost the openness of the Asia-Pacific economy and safeguard multilateral trade systems. “To address the deep-seated problems in the world economy， monetary stimulus policies alone are not enough. We must commit ourselves to even greater eforts to advance economic structural reforms so that the supply and demandsystem will be better adapted to the changing structure of demand. We need to leverage APEC's role as a policy platform and an incubator to strengthen cooperation in such areas as Internet economy， blue economy， green economy and urbanization， with a view to improving the region's capacity for independent innovation. We need to encourage equal-footed participation and extensive consultation，and make free trade arrangements open and inclusive to the extent possible with a view to enhancing economic openness in our region and upholding the multilateral trading regime. We need to devote ourselves to win-win cooperation， resist protectionism and facilitate fair competition.”

He noted， however， that the constant emergence of new regional free trade deals gave rise to worries about fragmentation.

“We must recognize diversity in the development path， respect each other's development mode chosen in line with respective conditions and resolve differences through dialogue and consultation. I'm confdent that the vast Pacifc Ocean will become a bridge of cooperation， a bond of friendship and a common home for people across the Asia-Pacifc region.”

President Xi emphasized that the Asia-Pacifc economies should never allow anything to disrupt the region's development process. He urged APEC members to spare no efforts to foster a peaceful environment conducive to development. Asia-Pacific nations should respect each other's development paths chosen in line with their respective conditions and resolve diferences through dialogue and consultation. He urged APEC members to take concrete action to achieve the set goals. “Even the shortest journey can't be fnished without taking the frst step. Even the most trivial task can't be completed without taking action.” No blueprint would automatically come true. In realizing set goals， all APEC members need to work hand in hand. “We must step up policy dialogue and coordination and use APEC as a platform to create synergy. We must focus on development， spare no efort in fostering an environment of peace conducive to development and never allow anything to disrupt the Asia-Pacifc development process. We must adhere to the concept of win-win cooperation and community of shared future， cooperating while competing， and achieving common development through cooperation. We must recognize diversity in development path， respect each other's development paths chosen in light of our specifc conditions， and resolve diferences through dialogue and consultation. I am confdent that the vast Pacifc Ocean will become a bridge of cooperation， a bond of friendship and a place we call our common home.”

Xi's remarks warmly welcomed

President Xi's remarks was echoed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev， who also commented that trade agreements within the APEC region should not be a substitute for the multilateral trade system and already existing economic ties.

For his part， Indonesian vice President Jusuf Kalla said APEC and the Group of 20（G20） share the common goal of achieving stable economic growth and quality， as well as inclusive growth， since many APEC members are also members of the G20. Strengthening synergy between the policies of both would support the recovery and stability of the global economy and ensure that growth would trickle down.

Tang Guoqiang， Chairman of the China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation Council， said the CEOs spoke highly of Xi's remarks on China's economic proposals and believed the Chinese government can promote a healthy development of the country's economy， which would bring more opportunities to the Asia-Pacifc region.

Liu Chenyang， Director of the APEC Research Center of Nankai University， suggested Asia-Pacific economies needed more coordination among the existing free trade arrangements and promotion of the construction of FTAAP in order to avoid fragmentation.

Wilson Lee Flores， columnist of a local newspaper， the Philippine Star， said FTAAP had good prospects， being large in scale and comprehensive in scope. “Many Asians look forward to China's dynamic leadership of FTAAP， and hope this plan could be realized as soon as possible despite some obstacles. FTAAP is more win-win and inclusive，” Flores said.

APEC Ministerial Meeting

The APEC Ministerial Meeting was held in Manila in preparation for the Leaders' Meeting on November 16-17. It adopted a joint statement eyeing new actions to boost regional economic growth. According to the joint statement， the new moves aimed at continuing to chart a course for the region in the 21st Century based on enhancing regional economic integration agenda， and fostering micro，small and medium enterprises' participation in regional and global markets. Te joint statement also called for improving investment in human capital development and building sustainable and resilient communities.

On the sidelines of the APEC meetings，President Xi met with Juan Manuel Santos，President of Colombia； Najib Razak， Prime Minister of Malaysia； John Key， Prime Minister of New Zealand； and Leung Chunying， Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Te annual meeting next year will be held in Peru.

Links

APEC Members and Observers

Members （21）

Australia， Brunei Darussalam， Canada， Chile，People's Republic of China，Hong Kong， China， Indonesia，Japan， Republic of Korea，Malaysia， Mexico， New Zealand，Papua New Guinea， Peru，Philippines， Russia， Singapore，Chinese Taipei， Thailand， United States and Vietnam.

Observers （3）

ASEAN Secretariat， Pacific Economic Cooperation Council，Pacific Islands Forum.

Barong Tagalog，National Costume of Philippines

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation （APEC）leaders wore the Philippines' national costume Barong Tagalog for the family photo session.

The Barong Tagalog， more commonly known as simply Barong （and occasionally called Baro）， is an embroidered formal shirt which is considered the national dress of the Philippines. It is lightweight and worn untucked over an undershirt.

Today， in lowland Christian Filipino culture it is common formal attire， especially at weddings. Less formal variants are used also as uniform in schools，universities and offices. The Barong Tagalog was popularized as formal wear by President Ramón Magsaysay， who wore it to most private and state functions， including his own inauguration.

Source:

Xinhua， China Daily， China News Service