Interpretation of the economic and trade results of the 27th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting

The 27th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held recently launched the post-2020 cooperation vision and reached the goal of jointly building the Asia-Pacific Community, which has been hailed as a landmark in APEC cooperation.

The Asia-Pacific region is one of the strongest and most dynamic sectors of the world economy. What will the outcome of this meeting mean for future Asia-Pacific cooperation and global economic development? What role will China play in this process?

What is the significance of the meeting?

The meeting announced the attainment of the Bogor Goals and formulated the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040. Yang Zhengwei, deputy director general of the Department of International Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce, said that this informal leaders' meeting is of landmark significance in APEC cooperation.

The Bogor Goals, proposed at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in 1994, call for trade and investment liberalization among developed economies by 2010 and developing economies by 2020. The Bogor target expires at the end of this year.

APEC chen-yang liu, director of the research center of nankai university, told the reporters, until the bogor goals, establishment of new vision for APEC medium and long-term future development put forward the new target, new measures, inheriting and continuity, significance, with a more distinctive "community of destiny" features, the engraving era in the history of the APEC meeting.

Zhang Yunling, member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the new vision continues the agenda of the Bogor Goals, such as advancing the free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). It sends a clear signal that all parties are committed to advancing regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific and will strongly support economic globalization and the multilateral trading system.

This meeting is of special significance in the context of the continuing spread of the global COVID-19 epidemic. As a result of the epidemic, the Asia-Pacific region has experienced negative economic growth for the first time in decades, making it an arduous task to protect people's health and achieve economic recovery.

Liu chenyang said that the Asia-Pacific region is one of the sectors with the strongest economic growth in the world, and the practical measures adopted at the meeting will help the regional economy overcome the gloom of the epidemic and inject strength into the global economic recovery.

What are the new features of the new vision?

Experts stressed that the new vision is not a simple replacement for the Bogor goals, but a new plan based on the inheritance.

Over the past 26 years since the implementation of the Bogor Goals, economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region has gained greater depth and breadth, and cooperation has expanded from the scope of economy and trade to more diverse areas.

For example, according to the new vision, APEC will promote the development of new forms and models of the digital economy in the future. "This is in line with the global trend of development in the future. It will become a powerful vehicle for promoting innovation-driven development in the Asia-Pacific region and open up new space for regional and global economic growth." Liu Chenyang said.

While demonstrating APEC's commitment to regional integration, the new vision also demonstrates a long-term commitment to support the multilateral trading system.

Zhang Yunling said both promoting the development of the digital economy and highlighting global economic governance reflect the concept of keeping pace with The Times. "APEC has been moving forward with the Bogor Goals agenda, and this dynamic process of opening up, cooperation and common development in the Asia-Pacific is what really matters."

What role will China play?

"China welcomes the conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement and will actively consider joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement." During the meeting, China further issued a declaration on openness and cooperation.

China has been playing an active role in advancing APEC cooperation.

Taking the realization of the Bogor Goals as an example, the Ministry of Commerce described China's role as "a huge contribution" -- the average tariff level was reduced from 23.6 percent to 7.5 percent, trade in services was significantly opened up, the entry threshold for foreign investment was continuously lowered, and China also provided trade-promoting international public goods such as the China International Import Expo...

As a collective agenda, APEC has been working together to move the Asia-Pacific toward freer and more open trade and investment. In this process, China, as the world's second largest economy and the world's largest trader in goods, will certainly play an important role in the implementation of the new vision.

"Apart from increasing economic weight, the further opening up of China itself will also create greater economic growth and trade and investment dividends for other APEC members." Liu Chenyang said.

In Zhang yunling's view, By building a new development pattern, China, which used to rely on external markets, will be able to provide a broader market space for the development of the Asia-Pacific region.

According to the 14th five-year Plan, China will open up to the outside world at a high level and open up new prospects for win-win cooperation. "This will certainly contribute positively to the implementation of the new vision." "Yang zhengwei said.