The 24th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Peru. Photo: xinhua
Through the various meetings and forums, they will show the strength of APEC as a forum to initiate ideas and motivate economic growth, contributing to building the Asia-Pacific region into an engine of global development.
Over nearly three decades since its foundation and development and 23 years of implementing the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the region, APEC has enjoyed considerable economic achievements. Particularly, the implementation of the three pillars of i) trade and investment liberalization, ii) business facilitation and iii) economic and technical cooperation, has made considerable contributions to these results.
Notably, from 2000-2015, the region’s total trade value rose 2.5 times from USD 6.4 trillion to USD 16.5 trillion, nearly 67 percent of which was internal trade and tariffs, on average, have been slashed by more than 50 percent, from 11 percent in 1996 down to just 5 percent in 2015. These are animated figures that attest to the success and important role played by APEC over the past 28 years that have helped millions of APEC citizens to free themselves from poverty.
Today, there are growing doubts about the benefits of globalization and free trade in some areas in the world. However, it is undoubtedly more important to accelerate the realization of the Bogor Goals looking towards 2020. As a result, the APEC 2017 Economic Leaders’ Meeting is the time for APEC member economies to send a strong message affirming their continued commitment to open markets, deeper regional economic integration and enhanced support for a new and more advanced process of globalization.
In addition, developing a post-2020 vision will give shape to APEC's values and role in the evolving regional and global economic architecture, which was proposed at the previous meeting in Peru. That vision should clearly define the objectives, long-term direction and pillars of cooperation for the forum in the next 10 to 15 years.
Thus, it is necessary for the APEC member economies to uphold their spirit of equal, voluntary and non-binding cooperation for mutual benefits in order to guarantee the dynamism and attractiveness of APEC with diverse histories, cultures and development levels. Additionally, they have to detail the leading role of APEC in shaping a structure and administrative process in the region and in the world as well. The success of the aforementioned issues will bring APEC a new value and role in the regional and global constantly changing economic structures.
APEC soon enters its fourth decade while the world is pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals to 2030. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly in digital technology, has fundamentally changed the global economic landscape. While technology is further connecting mankind and opening up new development opportunities, it also brings some challenges. Extensive economic integration and shifts in technologies, particularly automation and artificial intelligence, are revamping industries much faster than some economies can adapt to.
Besides, a burgeoning middle-class and aging demographic structure also present new requirements for regional growth and economic integration. Furthermore, the increasingly negative impacts of climate change, natural disasters and socio-economic challenges also present unique challenges for regional, sustainable, socio-economic growth.
In this context, APEC has to constantly adapt to changes in both the region and the world. Following recent recorded cooperation achievements of APEC, the host Vietnam initiated the theme “Creating new dynamism, fostering a shared future" and four major priorities for the APEC 2017 Year. The priorities are on fostering sustainable, innovative and inclusive growth; deepening regional economic integration; strengthening MSMEs’ competitiveness and innovation in the digital age, and enhancing food security and sustainable agriculture in response to climate change. These meet the interests and benefits of member economies, reflecting the common trend in international cooperation. As the most important event of the year, the APEC 2017 Economic Leaders’ Meeting associates closely with these themes and priorities.
We have every reason to believe that the APEC 2017 Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be successful and will contribute to emphasizing APEC’s role as a forum to initiate ideas and motivate economic growth in the region and also the world.
Written by Editorial Board
Translated by Van Hieu