On November 19, 2018, when answering questions from journalists on the recently concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Papua New Guinea (PNG), State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that the APEC meeting held in PNG was successful in general. All parties, centering on the theme of the meeting, reached extensive consensus on promoting regional economic integration, enhancing connectivity, and realizing inclusive growth. In particular, President Xi Jinping proposed the Chinese solutions to better deal with global challenges in his important speeches at the CEO Summit and during the APEC meeting, which is widely acclaimed by all parties.

There are reasons behind the failure to adopt a communique for the meeting. The principal one is that certain economy insisted on imposing its own texts on other parties, excusing protectionism and unilateralism, and refusing to accept reasonable revisions from the Chinese and other parties. Such an action, arousing discontent of many economies including China, is also obviously not in line with the principle of making decision upon consensus upheld by the APEC. Decision by consensus, serving as a basic principle, is where the value lies in the APEC. It is in the joint interests of all parties and cannot be ignored and abandoned.

The Chinese side respects the Chairman’s statement of PNG as the host on outcomes of the meeting, and hopes that the statement will sum up the consensus reached at the meeting to unleash more positive energy.