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China to take on bigger role at APEC summit
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ZHANG Wei, general manager of a Beijing-based wine company, pins high hopes on the upcoming 22nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, considering it a good occasion to acquaint himself with the economy of the Asia-Pacific region.
Though the lion’s share of his company’s profits come from the domestic market, Zhang’s company sells wine to other APEC members, such as Japan, Canada and the United States, and he hopes his company can expand business to the entire Asia-Pacific region.
“Compared with 13 years ago, Chinese companies are becoming more international,” said Zhang, who has attended some previous APEC meetings.
An increasing number of Chinese enterprises are doing business overseas and Chinese entrepreneurs are more willing to express themselves in international arenas such as the APEC meeting, he said.
“I expect to do more business in the Asia-Pacific region and I’m paying close attention to every signal being sent from the APEC meetings,” said Zhang.
The world is watching, too. A recent report published on the website of the Wall Street Journal predicted that, on economic issues, “trade and infrastructure are likely to dominate,” while Japanese website The Diplomat said the meeting will align with China’s vision for a region connected through railroads, ports, highways, and pipelines.
It’s been 13 years since China last hosted the annual APEC summit, and many changes have taken place in the country and the world. Over the past 13 years, China has hosted two other influential international events — the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. China has grown to be the world’s second-largest economy, trailing only the United States. It has also become the world’s largest foreign currency reserve and the world’s largest goods trader. The country has been at the center of the international stage.
The international situation is undergoing significant changes as well, as the most serious financial crisis since the 1930s spread from the West throughout the world and is still casting a shadow over the global economy. In June, the World Bank cut its global growth forecast for this year.
Though China remains one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, some outside the country are anxious about whether the country can achieve sustainable growth, and they consider China’s economic slowdown one of the biggest challenges for the world. The upcoming APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be an important window for those with doubts to understand the trend in China’s economic development.
“The growth of China’s influence in the international arena has been reflected in the APEC arena. In earlier years, other members paid little attention to China’s participation in APEC meetings, but now things are changing,” said 85-year-old Wang Yusheng, a former APEC senior official.
Major topics
Meanwhile, the importance of the Asia-Pacific region, which includes the world’s three largest economies, has also been rising.
APEC, founded 25 years ago, has gradually transformed the Asia-Pacific from a mere geographic concept to a body for economic cooperation involving 2.8 billion people and half of the global economic output. APEC members account for 40 percent of the world’s population, 57 percent of total global GDP and 46 percent of global trade.
The Asia-Pacific is now the most dynamic and promising geo-economic region in the world, widely regarded as an engine driving world economic growth. At the upcoming APEC forum, Asian, American and Oceanian representatives will work together toward this year’s APEC theme, “Shaping the Future through Asia-Pacific Partnership.”
The Beijing meeting will also try to further shape the new type of relations among major powers.
This year’s APEC meeting is expected to take up three major topics: “Advancing Regional Economic Integration,” “Promoting Innovative Development, Economic Reform and Growth,” and “Strengthening Comprehensive Development in Infrastructure and Connectivity.”
Several recent topics in economic integration, such as the Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and the development of a global value chain, have drawn attention even before the meeting.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently promised that “we will endeavor to host a productive, harmonious and successful APEC meeting in Beijing so that it will leave an indelible imprint on the course of regional cooperation and global economic development.”
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