A Chinese Cabinet official said Beijing was committed to establishing a comprehensive and high-level Asia-Pacific free trade area, in comments made at the 28th trade ministers' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) over the weekend.
Speaking via videolink, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said all APEC members should take building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future as the main line and promote practical cooperation in trade and investment.
Free-trade arrangements should be explored as the main channel for promoting regional economic integration, and efforts should be made to advance regional inclusive development, he added.
Founded in 1989, APEC is composed of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
The minister reiterated that China would open its door wider and continue providing a driving force for the stable growth of global and regional economies.
China is implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with a high level of quality, actively building the Version 3.0 of the China-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Free Trade Area with members of the regional bloc, and promoting its accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, Wang told the meeting.
Founded in 1967, Asean is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The minister also said China supported the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) as its core, maintained the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, and delivered more benefits to all parties.
APEC can play its role as a booster, stabilizer and incubator, and can provide strong support to the WTO's work, he added.
China is ready to strengthen cooperation with other APEC members to jointly push for substantial results for agendas to be discussed at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, such as pandemic response and WTO reforms, Wang said.
Source: The Manila Times
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<p>Time: 2024 By: Ministry of Industry and Trade</p>
