The Ninth
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders'
Meeting started in Shanghai Sunday morning at the Shanghai
Science and Technology Museum.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin chaired the meeting, and delivers a
speech entitled "Strengthen Cooperation and Meet New Challenges
Together in The New Century". He said:
"Dear Colleagues,
I
am very pleased to be with you all in Shanghai in this golden
season of autumn to discuss economic cooperation in the Asia-
Pacific region. On behalf of the Chinese Government and people and
in my own name, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of
you.
We, the APEC economic leaders, have a historical mission to
fulfill: We must adopt a forward-looking approach and formulate,
through discussion, a common development strategy that is
responsive to the development requirements of the new century in
the interest of promoting growth and prosperity in the
Asia-Pacific.
At
the first APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in 1993, I said that what
kind of world was to be brought into the 21st century was a crucial
issue that we leaders of this generation must carefully think about
and address. Today, at the beginning of the 21st century, we have
found the world situation and that of the Asia-Pacific both
encouraging and worrying.
On
the one hand, peace and development remain the theme of our times.
Economic globalization is developing in depth. Science and
technology are advancing with each passing day and high-tech
industries are booming. All this has offered us new opportunities
for achieving national economic growth and improving our peoples'
lives.
On
the other hand, development is uneven in the Asia-Pacific and
throughout the world. The gap between the rich and the poor still
exists. The "digital divide" is widening. Since early this year,
some major economies in our region have witnessed a sluggish demand
and a slow-down in their growth, which has affected trade and
financial stability. The September 11 terrorist attacks on the
United States, in particular, have produced serious
consequences.
All in all, there are both challenges and opportunities ahead. We
should work together, take actions, seize opportunities, and rise
to the challenges so as to promote greater economic growth of our
region in the new century. This is a major responsibility for us
leaders of the region. To strengthen cooperation so that all APEC
member economies may benefit from economic globalization and
scientific and technological progress should be an objective for
APEC to strive for. How to take concrete and effective measures to
bolster confidence and realize recovery and growth + this is a
pressing issue for this Meeting to address.
The Asia-Pacific region, in the long run, will remain economically
the most dynamic part of the world. It will surely usher in a new
phase of development if all the countries and regions pull together
in times of trouble to overcome difficulties. It is in the common
interests of APEC that all its member economies enhance
coordination in macro policies, deepen economic restructuring,
stabilize financial markets and create a sound overall environment
for economic recovery and sustainable development. Developed
members are the major beneficiaries of economic globalization and
an important force for worldwide economic growth. Therefore, they
should lose no time in adopting further measures to restore market
confidence, expand demand and promote an early recovery and
development of the regional and global economy. They also have the
obligation to help lift developing members out of the current
difficulties at an early date, which will in turn facilitate their
own sustainable development.
APEC must give firm support to the multilateral trading system,
strengthen Ecotech and try to attain the Bogor Goals of realizing
trade and investment liberalization before 2010 for developed
members and 2020 for developing members. Globalization will grow
smoothly and the world economy develop in a sustained and steady
manner only when most members of the international community can
reap the benefit. The New Economy will bring its potential to the
full only when all the members and all sectors of the society
participate in it.
To
this end, enhancing Ecotech with emphasis on human capacity
building and promoting a coordinated development of Ecotech on the
one hand and trade and investment liberalization on the other will
be an effective way. Human resources are the most valuable. Human
capacity building meets our long-term as well as immediate needs.
It has now become one of the core areas of APEC cooperation, an
area that members enjoy the broadest consensus and the best
foundation for closer cooperation. We should translate the
strategic choice into strategic action, advancing it steadily and
seeking practical results. Governments of member economies must
take up their responsibility. At the same time, efforts should be
made to mobilize the business and academic communities and bring
their enthusiasm and creativity into full play.
Last May, China and Brunei jointly hosted in Beijing the APEC High
Level Meeting on Human Capacity Building. The meeting adopted the
Beijing Initiative, advocating a tripartite partnership among
governments, educational and academic circles and business
communities. It represents a useful effort not only for human
capacity building but also for Ecotech in wider areas.
To
implement the consensus of the Beijing Meeting, the Chinese
Government has, in cooperation with some internationally well-known
IT firms and educational institutions, launched a follow-up project
to the Beijing Initiative. The three-faceted project includes the
training of IT specialists, dissemination of Internet knowledge and
establishment of a Human Capacity Building Forum. In the next three
years, 1,500 high-level Internet specialists will be trained for
APEC members free of charge on its on-line training platform. In
addition, the Chinese Government will earmark US$2 million for the
launch of the "APEC Finance and Development Project" in Shanghai, a
project designed to train more financial professionals and enhance
APEC members' capacity for
a sustainable economic growth.
To
meet challenges of the new century, APEC should play a bigger role
in promoting regional economic growth and prosperity in light of
the realities of the region and the requirements of our times. As
the top-level inter-governmental forum for economic cooperation in
this region, APEC has contributed significantly to economic
development in the Asia-Pacific and the world at large. The APEC
Approach, featuring such principles as consensus and voluntarism,
tallies with the reality of diversity of the region and holds the
key to the success of its member economies through closer
cooperation. APEC must build on these successes and give a new
dimension to its intensified cooperation in the future.
--
APEC should always stand at the forefront of regional and global
economic development, adapt itself to the latest economic situation
and characteristics in the region and the world and play an
important guiding role in addressing the acute economic problems
therein.
--
APEC should take firmer steps toward the Bogor Goals on the basis
of respect for diversity and, at the same time, help develop the
multilateral trading system in line with the principle of " open
regionalism".
--
APEC should develop in a way that reflects the broadest common
interests of all its members and adopt more effective cooperation
modalities to narrow the gap between its members so as to enhance
their cohesion. This is the only way for APEC to remain dynamic and
attain the goal of common prosperity for all its members.
I
am confident that with the concerted efforts of all its members,
APEC will make ever greater achievements through cooperation and
participation.
China will, as always, commit itself to reform, opening-up and
modernization drive. China has entered a new stage of development,
a stage in which it is building a well-to-do society throughout the
country and speeding up socialist modernization. We are
implementing the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2001-2005) for the National
Economic and Social Development. Guided by this plan, we will
unswervingly focus on development and carry out restructuring all
the way through with reform, opening up and advances in science and
technology as the driving force and the improvement of the people's
living standards as the fundamental objective. We will continue to
promote economic growth and social progress.
China will take a more active part in regional and global economic
and technical cooperation. Once inside the WTO, China will strictly
comply with the universally acknowledged market rules, implement
open, transparent and equality-based policies of trade and
investment and endeavor to promote a multi-directional and
multi-level opening-up in a wide range of areas. A China that
enjoys stability, growth and progress will make even greater
contribution to peace and development in the region and the world
at large.
Dear Colleagues,
APEC has pioneered an effective cooperation modality that
galvanizes growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. It
will continue to forge ahead, with its members working in mutual
trust and closer cooperation.
A
peaceful and stable environment is indispensable for sustained
economic growth. Terrorism is a scourge that undermines stability.
It is therefore a common task for people throughout the world to
fight terrorism. Let us join hands in creating a regional and
international environment in which people of all countries will
enjoy success, peace and prosperity. "
Attending the meeting are Australian Prime Minister John Howard,
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Chilean President Ricardo
Lagos Escobar, Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, Indonesian
President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark,
Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Chinese President Jiang Zemin,
Mexican President Vicente Fox, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister
Mekere Morauta, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Philippine
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Russian President Vladimir
Putin, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra, US President George W. Bush and Vietnamese
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.
Keeping up tradition, leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic
Leaders Meeting arrived at the Shanghai Science and Technology
Museum Sunday in Chinese-style attire provided by the host,
China.
The attire consists of a satin jacket featuring Chinese-style
cotton buttons and round flower patterns with peonies surrounding
the four letters of APEC, and a white silk shirt.
The leaders are expected to pose for a group photo in the attire at
the end of the gathering.
It
is predicted that around 0800 GMT (4:00pm Beijing Time), after
their three Sunday sessions, the leaders are likely to issue a
communiqui covering trade and the global economic slowdown and a
separate statement on terrorism, the first major political
declaration in the 12-year history of a grouping founded to promote
free trade and regional economies.
(Xinhua News
Agency October 21, 2001)