Blueprint to boost development of global value chains

APEC strategic plan also covers creation of a green supply network

APEC leaders said on Tuesday they will draw up a strategic blueprint to promote development of global value chains and establish a regional cooperation network on a green supply chain.[Special coverage]

Under the blueprint announced in Beijing, the APEC could launch initiatives in 2015 to enhance global supply chains and study the impact of the measures on supply chain growth.

Shen Danyang, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said the blueprint, which covers most major issues in trade and economic cooperation, will serve to guide global supply chain cooperation.

Closer supply chain links have helped to increase cross-border business and push economic integration in the region, laying a foundation for the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, he said. When established, this area will cover about half the global economy.

The region will also take a step-by-step approach to compiling domestic account and foreign trade statistics and set up a strategic framework on measuring APEC value-added trade.

Economists said the Asia-Pacific has the closest supply chain links, and setting up efficient supply chains in the region will enhance economic integration and benefit economies at all levels of development.

Ma Tao, a senior research fellow at the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the value-added measurement framework and a new database will better reflect the real trade situation.

Measurements of value-added trade, initiated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Trade Organization, could address the double counting implicit in current gross flows of trade.

Tuesday's announcement said efforts will be made in 2015 and future years on policy research, exchanging information, developing shared approaches to collecting statistics and offering focused capacity-building programs.

"China's trade balance positions can change significantly when measured in value-added terms," Ma said.

The leaders also agreed to launch initiatives to help small and medium-sized enterprises access global value chains in major industries such as infrastructure and innovation.

Ma said it is important to push concrete policy recommendations that can help integrate such enterprises into global value chains, as SMEs account for about 90 percent of all businesses within APEC economies.

The leaders also agreed to set up an APEC cooperation network on a green supply chain, endorse establishment of the network's first pilot center in Tianjin and encourage other economies to establish pilot centers.

The concept of green supply chain management has also been highlighted in China because of the country's environmental problems and shortage of resources.

Mu Lingling, general manager of the Tianjin Green Supply Chain Center, said her center is the first comprehensive service platform for a green supply chain in the world.

"We mainly serve enterprises in Tianjin, but will expand our services to the economic area around the Bohai Sea and other regions," she said.

The center is promoting procurement of environmentally friendly products.

It also promotes green research and the improvement of manufacturers' internal supply chains, Mu said.