The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO
Summit 2001 opened in Shanghai Thursday afternoon with the presence
of some 500 chief executive officers and general managers of over
300 overseas big companies and some 80 Chinese enterprises. Qian
Qichen, vice premier of China, addressed the Summit on behalf of
the Chinese government and extends his cordial congratulation on
its opening. Yu Xiaosong, chairman of the Organizing Committee of
APEC CEO Summit 2001 and the China Council for the Promotion of
International Trade (CCPIT), and Mr. Xu Kuangdi, mayor of Shanghai,
also addressed the Summit.
In
his address, Qian spoke highly of the important role that business
leaders have played in promoting the economic prosperity of the
Asia-Pacific region and economic cooperation in the region as well
as in the world at large.
“The APEC CEO Summit has set up a platform for communication and
cooperation, which gives expression to the long-held APEC spirit of
equality and cooperation. Today, the elite of the Asia-Pacific
business community meet once again in Shanghai to express their
views and discuss major issues under the theme of ‘New Century, New
Economy: Developing in the Globalizing World,’” Qian said.
Qian called for strengthening cooperation between entrepreneurs and
governments.
“This will be an occasion under the new situation for important
communication and exchanges between entrepreneurs as well as
between entrepreneurs and governments. It will help increase
cooperation between enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region as well
as strengthen relations between the enterprises and governments,”
said Qian.
Qian said that in the new century, the trend towards economic
globalization has grown stronger. The New Economy has developed at
an extraordinary speed. The economic situation in the Asia-Pacific
region has undergone many changes. As major players in economic
activities and technological innovation, enterprises are obviously
under pressure from competition. However, a wider range of
competition implies a wider range of cooperation at the same
time.
Enterprises from different APEC economies can bring into play their
respective comparative advantages, boost inter-regional economic
and technological cooperation, optimize the allocation of resources
in a wider scope and on a greater scale and achieve an all-win
outcome while seeking to maximize their profits, Qian said.
Qian said that the Chinese market and the world market will be more
closely integrated as China's accession to the WTO is imminent.
China's economic development will also depend more on its economic
exchanges and cooperation with other countries and regions in the
world, especially the Asia-Pacific region.
“An open China cannot do without the world. After its entry into
the WTO, China will honor its commitments and more vigorously
advance its all-directional, multi-tiered and wide-ranging
opening-up. China will further open up its domestic market,
increase open areas and localities, take well-measured steps to
open wider in such service sectors as finance, insurance, telecom,
trade and tourism and actively explore new approaches and ways to
utilize foreign capital.”
In
his speech, Yu Xiaosong put forward that particular views of
attendant elites on the economic development will help to meet
challenges, overcome difficulties and reverse the slowdown of the
world economy, thus bringing it back into the right track.
Xu
Kuangdi, mayor of Shanghai, extended his warm welcome to the
delegates on behalf of Shanghai municipal government and the 13
million Shanghai citizens. He says that the opening up of Shanghai
is in great need of further exchange and cooperation with all
countries and regions all over the world in the fields of economy,
science and technology, and culture.
“The hosting of APEC meetings this year undoubtedly offers Shanghai
an opportunity hard to come by. Shanghai will further improve its
investment environment and market order, and more vigorously face
the opportunities and challenges brought by the economic
globalization,” the mayor said.
More than 500 CEOs of world-renowned companies from the 21
APEC-member economies are attending the APEC meetings. Among them,
300 are overseas companies, including FedEx, HSBC, Hewlett-Packard,
General Motors, Microsoft, Citigroup, Unocal, Nationwide, Deloitte,
AOL Time Warner, Amway, Applied Materials, Goldman Sachs, and
Mitsui. The Summit also has delegates from over 80 Chinese
companies in sectors such as finance, automobile manufacture,
steel, worldwide shipping, oil, electricity, transportation, trade,
and high technology.
The summit will last three days with a series of forum under the
theme is "New Century, New Economy: Developing in the Globalizing
World."
(Edited by Xiaowei for china.org.cn from reports of Xinhua News
Agency and October 18, 2001)