The
Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2001 series of meetings came to an
end in Shanghai yesterday with accomplishments in many areas, and
at a significant moment: The meetings coincided with a global
economy slow-down aggravated by the terrorist attack on the United
States.
Although reaching the goals of APEC depends on each individual
country's improving its macroeconomic performance, APEC meetings
this year did make a concrete steps in regional cooperation and
liberalization of trade and investment to help restore confidence
among investors and consumers and to help the international economy
get back on track.
For example, the Shanghai Accord passed at the meetings makes
headway toward the Bogor Goals, in which free and open trade and
investment for developed members and developing members will be
seen by 2010 and 2020 respectively. The APEC Shanghai meeting also
managed, in light with the bleak world economic outlook, to push
for a new, early round of World Trade
Organization (WTO) trade talks and negotiations.
In
the Leaders' Declaration, leaders agreed to present an APEC with a
closer, stronger partnership for regional economic cooperation so
as to achieve common prosperity through wider participation and
closer cooperation.
Participants also agreed that the developed and developing member
economies should share the benefits of globalization and the new
economy. An e-APEC Action Plan and the Human Capacity Program will
help the rapid growth of information technology and knowledge-based
economy and bridge the "digital divide."
The meeting also for the first time in the history of APEC went
beyond economic issues to call for international cooperation to
combat terrorism. Leaders from major powers such as China, Japan,
Russia, and the US voiced agreement to work together in a variety
of ways to combat terrorism.
For the host country, China, the only country in the Asia-Pacific
region to enjoy rapid economic growth, the success of APEC 2001 in
Shanghai signifies the further integration of China into
globalization and its increasingly important role in the world.
(china.org.cn by Guo Xiaohong, staff reporter October 22, 2001)