APEC members should unswervingly promote free trade

Greater trade and investment liberalization and deeper regional economic integration are conducive to the stable development of the Asia-Pacific region. All members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) should view regional development in a more open and far-sighted manner, and prevent trade protectionism from nibbling the fruits of regional development away.

Leaders of the 21 APEC members gathered in Vladivostok, Russia on Sept. 8 and 9 to discuss regional trade and economic development.

We live in a world created by trade, and the degree of trade liberalization directly determines the development of a country, a region, or even the entire world economy. Free and open trade and investment is a major engine of economic growth. It is important to strengthen international trade and investment cooperation because it will greatly boost employment and economic growth, and promote sustainable recovery of the world economy.

Trade and investment liberalization as well as regional economic integration are the core agendas and fundamental objectives of the APEC. The two objectives complement each other, with the former being the foundation for the latter. Trade and investment liberalization and facilitation is the driving force behind the economic growth of the Asia-Pacific region.

The Asia-Pacific region has been more active in trade and investment than any other part of the world since the early 1990s. At present, APEC members' trade volume and direct investment each account for about 60 percent of the world's total. The APEC has played an irreplaceable role in deepening regional economic integration and promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation since its founding more than 20 years ago. One of the major goals of this year's APEC summit is to bring into full play the organization's role as an "incubator" which will further promote regional trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.

The Asia-Pacific economy maintains growth momentum but faces downward pressure due to the stubbornly weak global economic recovery and deteriorating European debt crisis. The Doha Round talks of the World Trade Organization have long been stalled, indicating considerable difficulties facing the multilateral trading system and the rise in protectionism worldwide. It requires great strength and courage to continue promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation under such complex circumstances.

The Asia-Pacific region does not lack strength. A prominent feature of the Asia-Pacific trade and economic development in recent years is the rapid and stable development of emerging economies such as China and India. Various regional economic and trade cooperation mechanisms such as the ASEAN-plus-one (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China) and ASEAN-plus-three (ASEAN and China, Japan, and South Korea) have accelerated trade interactions among different economies in the region, and injected the region with unprecedented vitality.

It is a general trend to further promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and to accelerate regional economic integration. This is why the Asia-Pacific region is confident of overcoming current problems.

The promotion of the trade and investment liberalization is conducive to the stable development of the region as a whole. What the member states most need to do is to view the regional development with a more open and long-term perspective, rather than only considering their own interests and immediate interests. They should carry forward the spirit of helping one another and prevent the trade protectionism from encroaching on the hard-won development achievements.

The theme of the summit is "Integrate to Grow and Innovate to Prosper," which reflects the general trend of the development of the Asia-Pacific region and is a call of creating the basis of sustainable development.

Only by firmly safeguarding the multilateral trading system, supporting the Doha round negotiations, opposing all forms of trade protectionism and expanding the trade and investment between economies can the regional and global economic recovery and growth be promoted and realized.

China has always attached great importance to and actively participated in the APEC cooperation of various fields, actively participated in the international economic cooperation and competition, vigorously develop the foreign trade and promote the common development of the region and the world with its own development.

China will continue to implement a more proactive opening-up strategy, improve the trade and investment environment, balance the foreign trade and maintain and strengthen the multilateral trading system to make contributions to the realization of a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific region.