Chinese president calls on APEC reform to raise efficiency of co-op

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-15 14:34

SINGAPORE - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Sunday called on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to reform and improve itself to raise the efficiency of cooperation so as to keep advancing with the changing times.

In his address at the two-day APEC Economic Leaders Meeting which opened on Saturday in Singapore, President Hu said profound changes were underway in the Asia-Pacific and world economy and APEC, after 20 years of development, now faced new challenges and problems.

Special coverage:
17th APEC Leaders' Week

He put forward the following three proposals on how APEC can keep advancing with the changing times:

First, APEC should focus more on its unique strengths and continue to promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.

President Hu said as the initiator and pioneer of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation in the region, APEC should continue to pursue regional economic cooperation, promote regional economic integration and raise the level of economic development of all its members.

Hu said the Bogor Goals concerned APEC's credibility, cohesiveness and future development, adding that if the developed members of APEC could meet the Bogor Goals as scheduled, it would give a strong boost to the confidence of all parties, bring about greater regional trade and move forward regional economic integration.

The Chinese top leader said that China supported APEC in giving priority to meeting the Bogor Goals by developed members in its near-term agenda and taking solid steps towards this objective.

Second, APEC should scale up input and promote even greater achievements in economic and technical cooperation.

According to Hu, economic and technical cooperation serves as an important guarantee for continued progress in trade and investment liberalization and facilitation in the region and offers the means to bridge the development gap among APEC members and achieve common prosperity.

Hu said all APEC members should place high importance on economic and technical cooperation, bearing in mind that such cooperation would contribute to the balanced and orderly development of all members.

He added that the APEC members needed to scale up input into economic and technical cooperation under the new circumstances, take earnest steps to help developing members in capacity building, increase technology transfer and bring economic and technical cooperation to a higher level.

To promote APEC economic and technical cooperation, Hu said, the Chinese government will allocate 10 million U.S. dollars for the establishment of the China-APEC Cooperation Fund to encourage and support participation by relevant Chinese departments and businesses in APEC economic and technical cooperation.

Third, APEC should continue to increase its institutional dynamism through reform and innovation.

President Hu said under the current circumstances, APEC should adopt a proactive approach in adapting to new developments and meeting new challenges and steadily push forward its own reform and institutional building.

Meanwhile, Hu added that APEC should also optimize resource allocation, raise work efficiency and make its cooperation more effective so that its efforts in addressing major economic issues would be more relevant, focused and timely, which would help APEC increase its influence in regional cooperation and make new and even greater contributions to economic and social development and improving people's life in the region.

The Chinese president said China would work together with the rest of the international community to meet the challenges and seek inclusive, sustainable and balanced economic growth.

He promised that China was committed to the path of peaceful development and a win-win strategy of opening-up.

"We will always pursue development that is peaceful, open and cooperative and make unremitting efforts towards a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity," Hu concluded.