BEIJING, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- The 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are expected to renew their endeavors to advance economic growth and integration at the upcoming Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru.
Maintaining continuity in the APEC agenda while seeking greater consensus, leaders will gather this month to discuss regional economic integration, the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), connectivity and service sector cooperation.
"In the long term, the Lima meeting should push forward economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region," said Wu Hongying, director of the Latin America office of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.
China, always committed to the APEC mechanism and the cooperation that continues to grow under it, is expected to contribute further at the upcoming event.
"China has, at various international meetings, injected vitality to the regional cooperation agenda," said Liu Chenyang, director of the APEC research center at Nankai University.
HEADING TOWARD INTEGRATION
It is regional economic integration that is foremost in the thinking behind this year's meeting, and members are expected to coordinate their stance on the FTAAP, the process of which was officially launched at the 2014 meeting in Beijing.
According to the Beijing Roadmap for APEC's Contribution to the Realization of the FTAAP, the proliferation of regional trade arrangements, including free trade areas (FTAs), has served the pursuit of free and open trade and investment, but has also resulted in a "spaghetti bowl" effect, posing complex new challenges.
The FTAAP will address problems arising from that mass of intertwined trade arrangements by integrating existing FTAs and unifying rules, thereby reducing the costs of operating and regulating the FTAs, said Tang Zhimin, director of China ASEAN studies at Thailand's Panyapiwat Institute of Management.
A collective strategic study on issues related to the FTAAP realization is nearing completion and the results will hopefully be submitted to the Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said while visiting Peru in October.
It is hoped that the results will get approved, and based on them, next moves will be decided through consultation, Wang said.
He also voiced the hope that FTAAP negotiations will start in due time.
The FTAAP has some distinct advantages over previous arrangements, according Wu Hongying with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations. It aims high, seeking long-term development and prosperity rather than short-term gains. It is inclusive, opening its arms to all Asia-Pacific economies. It forms no cliques.
The FTAAP also values coordinated development, taking into account the needs and interests of big and small economies alike, while stressing the benefits for all participants, she added.
COMMITMENT TO CONNECTIVITY
Over the years, the APEC member economies have placed more and more emphasis on connectivity that is so crucial to a seamlessly integrated community.
It has become the aspiration of many economies to improve connectivity, and has been written into development strategies both at the national and regional levels, including the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025, Tang said.
The APEC Connectivity Blueprint for 2015-2025 was approved in Beijing and promises tangible action on physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity.
"Consensus is being turned into concrete action. This year's meeting will continue implementation of the blueprint," said Nankai's Liu Chenyang.
Road, rail and energy projects are already underway across the region. Trade and customs clearance are being facilitated, standards harmonized, and areas like education and tourism are bringing people closer together in other ways.
Ports in nine APEC members, including Australia, Canada and China, have joined together in developing the Asia-Pacific Model E-port Network, also approved by APEC leaders in 2014.
China's contributions to all these achievements cannot be overlooked, Wu Hongying said.
The Belt and Road Initiative, with a focus on connectivity, has been aligned with many regional and national development strategies, producing more and more results. More than 100 countries and international organizations are now involved, and a number of projects are already under construction, such as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved loans to six infrastructure projects since it started operating in January and the Silk Road Fund has issued its first round of investment.
"With improvements in mechanisms and increased sources of funding, the region is expecting more progress," Liu Chenyang said.
There is now a call for making connectivity a new pillar of APEC, once it meets the targets of free, open trade and investment for all by 2020, Liu said.
