APEC 2001 and the Business Sector

Ladies & Gentlemen

First, let me say how delighted I am to be given this opportunity to speak to you here today. What I propose to do in the time I have available is to provide a brief outline of what APEC is and what it is not, touch on China's priorities as host of this APEC year, before opening the floor to my colleagues.

From its modest beginning in 1989 as an informal Ministerial-level dialogue group with 12 members, APEC has grown in both the breadth and depth of its activities, making steady and continuous progress towards the goal of "reducing economic disparities among members and achieving common prosperity".

APEC has become a formidable regional forum, especially with the introduction in 1993 of the annual informal Economic Leaders' meeting. The decision to bring leaders into the process was particularly important in imparting a new profile and dynamic to APEC by drawing support for the process at the highest levels in each participating economy. The Leaders' meetings have proven to be particularly effective in accelerating the pace of APEC's development and providing an invaluable and unique informal setting for bilateral exchanges among APEC leaders who might not otherwise have met during the course of the year.

APEC's main goal, as laid down in the 1994 Bogor vision, is for free and open trade and investment in the region by 2010 for industrialised economies and 2020 for developing economies. Its work is structured under three broad areas:

Today, with 21 member economies comprising some 2.5 billion people, a combined GDP of around US$18 trillion, and just over 47% of global trade, APEC has established itself as arguably the primary regional vehicle promoting economic development and cooperation in the Asia Pacific. In a region as vast and divers as ours, that is by no means a small feat. And we have reason to believe that driven by the same dynamics that gave birth to and underpinned the development of the process, this exemplary forum for dialogue, cooperation and confidence building will continue to thrive in the new century.

APEC, however, is not a negotiating forum, and that is one reason why APEC Ministers and Leaders have supported calls for a new WTO round. Nevertheless, it has been able to maintain its path towards the Bogor goals through the voluntary efforts of individual APEC economies, in line with multilateral commitments and recorded in Individual Action Plans (IAPs). These IAPs, which are offered for peer review, show that APEC economies as a whole have liberalised beyond their WTO commitments made during the Uruguay Round. Modest estimates by APEC's Economic Committee put these additional gains at around US$ 30 billion per year.

APEC does not have the resources of International Financial Institutions to respond to economic crisis nor to provide development assistance to its members. Its annual budget through member contributions is only around US$ 3.3 million. That is not to say it is helpless. Assistance to member economies - notably in the form of information sharing and capacity building activities - is provided through over 200 Ecotech projects.

APEC does not have a huge bureaucratic establishment, like the UN and OECD. The only permanent set-up it has is the Secretariat, which has a staff of around 50 people, half of them are seconded from member economies and the remaining are locally engaged support staff. Over the years, the Secretariat has provided a central link and core support to the APEC process, while maintaining the qualities of being lean, efficient and economic.

The theme for the year 2001: "Meeting New Challenges in the New Century: Achieving Common Prosperity through Participation and Cooperation".

In consultation with member economies, China has identified three sub-themes or agenda items:

Under the first sub-theme, work will be done to build on the existing economic and technical cooperation agenda, mobilize new and additional financial resources, and encourage greater contributions from member economies and the business community.

As for the second sub-theme, APEC seeks to revive the momentum of progress in its core mission of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. Initiatives have been put forward by members to facilitate trade, improve the regional investment environment and strengthen the multilateral trading system.

Through the third sub-theme, APEC aims to foster a favourable macro-economic environment for the sustainable growth of regional economies. This will include holding a dialogue on macroeconomic policy and structural reform to improve the sustainability and stability of growth in the region.

In terms of specifics, APEC this year will focus on building human capacity, urging the launching of a new round of the WTO, helping to ensure that the benefits of are shared equally by all economies and all segments of society. In this regard, E-commerce, cyber education, digital divide and other issues will be high on this year's agenda, with a view to help economies use advances in information technology to boost productivity and stimulate growth. Finally, APEC will continue to work on ways to build a secure and stable financial future for the region and prevent the recurrence of financial crisis will be another important issue for this year.

My remarks would not be complete without my saying a few words on the significance of the grand gathering in Shanghai in October. Already you can see how many new faces will appear for the first time at the Leaders' Meeting in Shanghai. The occasion will surely be a big news-maker.

Finally, I would like to thank you again for this opportunity to speak to you here today. Now, I would like to turn to podium over to my colleagues Richard Eason and Siti Nugraha Mauludiah, who will give you some of the details on the ways that APEC can help business.