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Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Jun and Assistant Commerce Minister Ren Hongbin Lead a Delegation to Attend the 30th Ministerial Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

2018-11-16 09:46

On November 15, 2018, the 30th Ministerial Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was held in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Jun and Assistant Commerce Minister Ren Hongbin led a delegation to the meeting.

Zhang Jun said that the current Asia-Pacific economy continues its recovery momentum on the whole, but the recurrence of trade protectionism and unilateralism has dealt a blow to the multilateral trading system and the Asia-Pacific regional cooperation, bringing more risks and uncertainties to the Asia-Pacific development environment. Zhang Jun put forward a four-point proposal on the Asia-Pacific cooperation. First, we should uphold the general direction of openness and development and safeguard the multilateral trading system, so as to establish the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) at an early date. Second, we should continue to inject new vitality into the Asia-Pacific development, promote structural reform and develop digital economy, in a bid to achieve high-quality development. Third, we should open up more space for the Asia-Pacific development through connectivity, and promote hardware and software connectivity in parallel as well as personnel exchanges to build a comprehensive Asia-Pacific connectivity network. Fourth, we should jointly well plan the future cooperation vision for 2020 and after, and lead the right direction for the Asia-Pacific cooperation. Zhang Jun emphasized that China supports the APEC in continuously playing a leading role in the global and regional economic cooperation and in actively participating in the regional economic integration. The Chinese side stands ready to work with all other members to push the Ministerial Meeting this year for positive outcomes in a bid to add new impetus to the prosperity in Asia Pacific.

Ren Hongbin said that against the current situation, the APEC should continue to support the multilateral trading system and oppose unilateralism and protectionism. The Chinese side supports in principle the World Trade Organization in implementing necessary reforms to strengthen its authority and effectiveness. The APEC should continue to take the FTAAP as its development goal, and pool positive factors. The APEC should continue to build an all-round, multi-tiered and composite Asia-Pacific connectivity network to achieve in-depth market integration within the region. Enterprises from the APEC economies actively participated in the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) that had just concluded, with the intended transaction amount accounting for nearly half of the CIIE's total intended transaction amount. The Chinese side welcomes the active participation of all the APEC economies in the CIIE next year.

The 30th APEC Ministerial Meeting discussed topics including regional economic integration, digital economy, sustainable and inclusive development, and the future cooperation vision for 2020 and after, in a bid to make preparations for the 26th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting to be held from November 17 to 18.

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