13 years on, China sends new signals on APEC 'home court'(2)

SHAPING THE FUTURE

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."

Absent from two previous APEC summits, U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to show up at the Beijing meeting. The leaders' summit meeting between the world's two largest economies will affect not only bilateral relations, but the entire global system.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will also meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the fifth time this year on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

The Beijing meeting will also try to further shape the new type of relations among major powers.

"Against such a backdrop, the meeting will send a signal of dialogue, cooperation, inclusiveness and understanding," said Tang Guoqiang, chairman of the China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.

For former senior APEC official Wang Yusheng, the most impressive achievement of APEC was the "Bogor Declaration" reached in 1994, which promised to realize free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region no later than 2020.

This year's APEC meeting is expected to make concrete progress toward this goal. It will 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.

Zhang Jun, vice chair of the 2014 APEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM), said in August that it is widely agreed that APEC members should continue to promote Asia-Pacific economic integration and kick off the FTAAP process.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said recently that through coordination and cooperation with APEC members, an important consensus will be reached on the launch of the FTAAP process during the meeting in Beijing, thus sending out a clear signal of enhancing regional integration and turning this long-standing vision into concrete actions.

Connectivity through infrastructure is another hot topic. Last month, financial ministers from 21 countries, including China, India and Singapore, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on establishing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to finance infrastructure development in Asia.

"The connectivity building to be discussed at this APEC meeting will not only be development of infrastructure but also simplification of customs procedures and cross-border travel," Ruan Zongze said.

In addition, new industries such as the Internet economy, the maritime "blue economy" and the "green economy" are expected to provide a new economic driving force for the region.

The Internet economy is another driver for the Asia-Pacific region, with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba debuting at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in September.

Many of the APEC topics were raised by China this time.

China's proposals are in line with the targets of APEC featuring free and open trade, and many members have provided support. This year's APEC meeting will develop a more open and inclusive platform for those ideas.

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 in the course of regional cooperation and global economic development."