Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is the highest-level mechanism for economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. With 21 member economies and three observers – ASEAN Secretariat, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, and Pacific Islands Forum – it covers an extensive part of the world and wields significant influence.

The forum was formally established in November 1989 at a ministerial meeting in the Australian capital of Canberra, attended by Australia, the US, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Canada, and the then six ASEAN countries. China became an APEC member in November 1991.

As an economic forum, APEC focuses on global and regional economic issues such as trade and investment liberalization, regional economic integration, connectivity, economic structural reform and innovative development, global multilateral trade systems, economic and technological cooperation, and capacity building. Its primary goal is to safeguard the common interests of its member economies in the Asia-Pacific, increase their economic interdependence, create an open multilateral trade system, and reduce regional trade and investment barriers.

APEC operates at five institutional levels: meetings of economic leaders, ministerial meetings, meetings of senior officials, committees and working groups, and the Secretariat. China hosted the 2001 and 2014 APEC economic leaders meetings in Shanghai and in Beijing respectively, and has played an active role in promoting free and open regional trade and investment and stimulating regional and global economic growth.

亞太經濟合作組織

亞太經濟合作組織是亞太地區層級最高、領域最廣、最具影響力的經濟合作機制。1989年11月，澳大利亞、美國、日本、韓國、新西蘭、加拿大及當時的東盟六國在澳大利亞首都堪培拉舉行亞太經濟合作組織首屆部長級會議，標志著亞太經合組織的正式成立。1991年11月，中國正式加入亞太經合組織。亞太經合組織共有21個成員，以及東盟秘書處、太平洋經濟合作理事會、太平洋島國論壇秘書處3個觀察員。作為經濟論壇，亞太經合組織主要討論與全球和區域經濟有關的議題，如貿易和投資自由化、區域經濟一體化、互聯互通、經濟結構改革和創新發展、全球多邊貿易體系、經濟技術合作和能力建設等，旨在維護本地區成員的共同利益，促進成員間的經濟相互依存，加強開放的多邊貿易體制，減少區域貿易和投資壁壘。亞太經合組織共有5個層次的運作機制 ：領導人非正式會議、部長級會議、高官會、委員會和工作組、秘書處。中國于2001年和2014年先后在上海和北京成功舉辦過兩屆亞太經合組織領導人非正式會議，為促進區域貿易和投資自由化便利化、推動全球和地區經濟增長發揮了積極作用。