25 years on, APEC to reshape Asia-Pacific in Beijing(3)

RENEWED IN BEIJING

As the forum turns 25 years old, expectations are high that APEC will enter a new stage and get reshaped into a more relevant and effective organization.

APEC is not without its problems. A uniform free trade agreement covering the whole region is yet to be established, cooperation in innovation, reform, technology lags far behind compared to trade, and the region is not well interconnected.

In addition, like economies elsewhere, the region has seen tepid growth due to bottlenecks in domestic economic reforms and restructuring, weak external demand and dampened investor confidence.

That's why the APEC Beijing meeting is focused on both cooperation and change.

According to Minister Wang, APEC members will launch the process of FTAAP, identify five pillar areas of cooperation, generate new momentum for growth and draw up a blueprint for establishing comprehensive connectivity in the Asia-Pacific.

This is why observers see the APEC Beijing meeting as a big opportunity to both help the region weather hard times and accelerate reforms to open a new chapter.

The new Asia-Pacific landscape would be an inclusive partnership and an open economic belt, which would be all reflected in the grand plan being drawn by the members and scheduled to be published in a few days.

China holds that the Pacific is wide enough.

Ordinary people and businessmen in the region are looking to "China wisdom" and "China initiative" to bring about a renewed Asia-Pacific along with new business opportunities, prosperity and stability.

The upcoming leaders' meeting at Yanqi Lake scheduled from Nov. 10 to Nov. 11 will serve as a great start.