Work Together for Asia-Pacific Prosperity

Work Together for Asia-Pacific Prosperity*

November 20, 2020

Both the world and the Asia-Pacific are experiencing profound change, a process accelerated by Covid-19. The world economy is in a downturn. Economic globalization is encountering headwinds. Unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise. Balancing equity and efficiency, growth and distribution, and technological development and employment is becoming more difficult. The wealth gap remains widespread. The global governance system faces new challenges. For the first time in decades, the Asia-Pacific as a whole has registered negative economic growth. Protecting people’s health and reviving the economy are two formidable challenges we face.

Which way should Asia-Pacific cooperation be heading? The answer will have a profound impact on the development of our region, the wellbeing of our people, and the future of the world.

One priority on this year’s agenda of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is to unveil the post-2020 vision, a pathway towards our goal of building an Asia-Pacific community. This should be pursued as a new starting point for us to begin another phase in Asia-Pacific cooperation, to sustain the strong momentum of development in our region, and to embrace a future of shared prosperity. Together, we can build an Asia-Pacific community of shared future, one of openness, inclusiveness, innovation-driven growth, greater connectivity, and mutually beneficial cooperation.

First, we need to stay open and inclusive.

The global economy is like the nearby Pacific Ocean – it admits water from various rivers, and connects different parts of the world. This gives it an immense capacity and enormous vitality. We should pursue cooperation on the basis of equality and dissolve differences with mutual respect because this is essential to delivering economic development and prosperity in our region.

Over the years, APEC has remained committed to regional economic integration and made significant gains in implementing the Bogor Goals. It has also played an important role in steering the development of the multilateral trading system. However, free and open trade and investment are not something that can be achieved overnight. It is important that the Asia-Pacific nations continue to take the lead in safeguarding peace and stability, upholding multilateralism, and fostering an open world economy.

We must stay as determined as ever in our support to the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, promote free and open trade and investment, and steer economic globalization in such a way that will make the global economy more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all. Continued efforts are needed to step up regional economic integration towards the early realization of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

China welcomes the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and will favorably consider joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

As we continue to promote free and open trade, we should pay no less attention to economic and technical cooperation. We need to further implement the APEC Strategy for Strengthening Quality Growth and the Action Agenda on Advancing Economic, Financial and Social Inclusion, and address the concerns of developing members. In particular, we need to respond to the special needs of women and other groups, and support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Such efforts will contribute to inclusive and sustainable growth.

China will host a seminar on advancing economic inclusion through trade and investment, where we can expect to hear proposals on how trade and investment policies can deliver great benefits to all the people. China looks forward to working with all parties to follow up on proposals to be made at the seminar.

Second, we need to pursue innovation-driven growth.

The digital economy represents the future of global development, and innovation will drive the economic takeoff of the Asia-Pacific. We need to seize the opportunities of our times and make full use of our region’s abundant human resources, solid technological foundations, and enormous market potential to gain a new competitive edge and open up new possibilities for bettering our people’s lives.

The APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap should be implemented in full to encourage the dissemination and application of new technologies, strengthen digital infrastructure, and close the digital divide. We need to improve economic governance and foster an open, fair, equitable and nondiscriminatory environment for businesses. This year, China has conducted an APEC case study on smart cities, which we hope will contribute to the formulation of guidelines on smart cities and offer an example for pursuing innovative urban development across the region.

China calls for sharing practices among APEC members on how to respond to Covid-19 and achieve economic recovery with digital technologies. China also calls for improving the digital business environment to energize market entities and tap the potential of the digital market. These efforts will add new impetus to economic recovery in our region. Next year, China will host a workshop on digital technology-enabled poverty alleviation to leverage the role of digital technologies in eradicating poverty in our region.

Third, we need to strengthen connectivity.

Connectivity is vital for both regional economic integration and interconnected global development. The pandemic confronting us further highlights the importance of connectivity. We need to continue to implement the APEC Connectivity Blueprint to facilitate a smooth, safe and orderly flow of people, goods, capital and data, and to achieve a seamlessly connected Asia-Pacific. China has opened fast tracks with other APEC members including Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore to facilitate the movement of people during the pandemic, and we will do more to build a network of facilitation arrangements.

To this end, it is important to promote the mutual recognition of Covid-related health information for international travelers. China is ready to take active and well-considered steps with all other parties to set up “green lanes” for goods, make customs clearance more efficient, remove bottlenecks, and reconnect disrupted links. We are ready to promote the creation of international cooperation platforms on industrial and supply chains to ensure their safe and smooth operation in our region and beyond.

We need to integrate development plans and connectivity initiatives of different parties to create greater synergy. On its part, China will work with all partners to pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. We believe this will provide a larger platform for increasing connectivity in the Asia-Pacific and inject stronger momentum into the economy of our region and the wider world.

Fourth, we need to promote mutually beneficial cooperation.

We APEC members are highly complementary in terms of development, and our interests are deeply intertwined. Economic cooperation among us has never been a zero-sum political game in which one gains at the expense of others. Rather, our cooperation has provided us with a development platform that delivers gains to us all. As a Malaysian saying goes, we should climb the hill and cross the ravine together. This aptly captures what defines us as an Asia-Pacific family. Covid-19 also reminds us that only with solidarity and cooperation can we meet challenges.

We need to forge stronger Asia-Pacific partnerships based on mutual trust, inclusiveness, and mutually beneficial cooperation, and act on the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. We need to upgrade and expand regional cooperation to deliver prosperity for the whole region. It is important that we advance results-oriented cooperation on the basis of consensus, properly manage differences and disagreements, and steer Asia-Pacific cooperation in the right direction to ensure APEC’s sound long-term development.

Beating Covid-19 is the most pressing task facing us all. We must step up research and development of vaccines and exchanges, work harder to make vaccines a global public good, and improve their accessibility and affordability in developing countries. With this in mind, China has joined the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility.

We support APEC in strengthening policy exchanges and capacity building in the areas of public health and MSMEs. China has proposed a telemedicine initiative to give people in poor and remote areas access to timely and quality medical services. We hope these efforts will contribute to anti-pandemic cooperation and economic recovery.

China values the role of APEC. We will continue to support the organization, and with our roots struck deep in the Asia-Pacific, we will continue to serve its development and prosperity.

* Part of the speech at the 27th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)