China Wuxi World Cities Service Industries Convention 2005

Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlmen,

I have the great honour and pleasure to be here in Wuxi to attend the China Wuxi World Cities Service Industries Convention. It is indeed so meaningful that this event is taking place in Wuxi, a beautiful city which has become one of the very important industrial and commercial centres in China and been, day by day, transforming itself into a city of international stature. May I extend, on behalf of the APEC Secretariat, our warm congratulations to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the China Association of Mayors, Wuxi Municipal People's Government and Coalition of Service Industries for organizing this important Convention.

2. Over the past one and half decades, mankind has witnessed the rapid process of globalization with the great scientific and technological advancements that have exerted an overwhelming impact on every aspect of our life - economic, political, social and cultural. As regard to the cities, the impact of globalization and scientific and technological progress can be seen clearly, among others, in three important aspects:

(i) they have expedited rapid urbanization, which implies a fast enlargement of cities' geographical size, population and leads to a higher demand for the improvement of economic, social and cultural living standards; (ii)They have created both strong demand and possibility to transform the economic structure of the city in the more progressive direction with the service industries accounting for a major and fast increasing proportion in GDP compared with a decreasing trend of agriculture; (iii) They have contributed to the formation of international webs of the cities, or intercity networks, in which the cities are closely inter-linked through many factors such as trade and investment activities, information and knowledge flows, people's mobility, tourism and cultural exchanges. "A number of such networks have already emerged, such as Metrex and Eurocities, particularly in western Europe. A world-wide Metropolis network also exists" (John Friedmann).

3. As we are entering into a new stage of development, often referred to as post-industrial or knowledge-based economy, service industries, largely generated and stimulated by scientific and technological progress, play an increasingly important role in the cities' social and economic development. Firstly, service industries have become the most vibrant factor and pillar of economic growth; Secondly, they have facilitated the better accommodating of the people's material and spiritual needs and; Thirdly, with the rapid development of information and telecommunication, transportation, financial and tourist linkages, service industries are, in fact, helping, in an effective way, promote the economic globalization and integration of cities into a global network.

The international stature and competitiveness of cities nowadays are reflected in and determined mostly by the development and capacity of their service industries. So, it is the service industries that play a key role in a city's path to become a world city. According to the definition by the World Encyclopedia, a city is considered a truly world city only when it is aided by essential service industries. This is to say that a world city must be supported by and connected to others internationally by a very comprehensive transportation system, an advanced information technology network as well as a free-flowing and interlocking financial system.

4. The Asia - Pacific region, which is home to APEC's 21 Member Economies, is known for its high economic growth, dynamism and rich demographic, cultural, social and economic diversity. The APEC region is also home to the world's largest cities, such as Tokyo with 27 million people, New York - 19 million, Shanghai - 14 million, Mexico City - 13 million, Moscow - 10 million, Manila - 9.3 million, Jakarta - 8.6 million, Bangkok - 6.5 million, just to name a few.

Throughout the Asia-Pacific Region, major cities are increasingly linked to one another through important channels such as trade and financial flows, exchange of information and knowledge, labour migration, tourism and cultural interactions. This has facilitated the emergence of intercity networks, in which member cities share common interests such as in the case of the Yokahama's CITYNET, where 24 major Asian cities from 19 economies and countries cooperate in the exchange of know-how and technologies.

5. In fact, service industries play an increasingly important role in the economic growth of the APEC region. In cities such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, San Francisco and Vancouver, service industries are already the dominant sector of the economy. In Shanghai for example, service industries have grown very fast and are expected to account for the overwhelming part of GDP in 15 years from now. Many APEC member economies compare favorably in the IT sector with the rest of the world. For example, as regard to the number of mobile phones per capita, two of the top three mobile economies worldwide are located in the APEC region (Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong). In another area, Japan and the Republic of Korea lead the world in commercial deployment of 3G networks. At the same time, trade in services in the APEC region has also expanded fast, accounting for nearly half of the world's volume of trade in services. While manufacturing and industrial production sectors remain major contributors to economic development of the more dynamic economies in the APEC region, city development is increasingly influenced by clusters of strategic service sectors and industries.

6. As in the other parts of the world, in the APEC region, service industries and the development of major cities have a mutual impact on each other. On the one hand, cities play the key role in boosting the development of services since cities provide the key infrastructure and demand for service industries. One the other hand, service industries have an important impact on urban growth, employment structure and land reallocation. According to many, there are several essential service industries, which play an especially important role in promoting the cities' economic, social and cultural development as well as their international connections and stature:

7. APEC has made a significant contribution to the development of service industries in the region through promoting trade in services. Recognizing that the services sector generates significant economic growth, trade and investment as well as a large volume of employment, APEC actively works for the development of trade in services and has, in fact, done a great deal in its efforts to promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade in services.

Ladies and gentlemen,

8. It is just a few days before the APEC Ministerial Meeting and APEC Economic Leaders Meeting begin in Busan, Korea. Since its inception in 1989, APEC has proven itself to be a key forum for enhancing economic growth and cooperation in Asia-Pacific. APEC Leaders and Ministers have long envisioned an Asia-Pacific community of stability and prosperity and so set the famous Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment with the target dates of 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies. This year marks the half-way point to achieve the Bogor Goals. APEC is now in the process of taking stock of the achievements over the past one and half decade and setting a course for the future. It is very meaningful that the main theme for this pivotal APEC year, which is hosted by the Republic of Korea, is "Towards One Community: Meet the Challenge, Make the Change". Working to this theme and the three sub-themes of "Renew the Commitment to the Bogor Goals", "Ensure Transparent and Secure Business Environment", and "Build Bridge over Differences", in 2005 APEC is seeking to build on the past achievements and make real change to meet its objectives for the years to come. In this endeavour, service industries figure high on the APEC's economic agenda. I believe that in addition to cities' efforts to promote service industries, the APEC process could help provide a forum for economies to enhance cooperation in this important area.

9. On a final remark, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the organizers for giving me the precious opportunity to attend this Convention. The very fact that the event is being organized in Wuxi, together with the Wuxi Declaration on the 2005 World City Service Alliance that will be issued here, clearly prove the strong resolve of the leaders and people of China, and Wuxi in particular, to make Wuxi a truly world city through developing and networking services in the region and the world over. May I wish the people of Wuxi the best success in this Endeavour.

Thank you.