HONOLULU, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Commerce Minister Chen Deming attended the 23rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting here Friday to explain China's positions and proposals on issues concerning Asia-Pacific cooperation.
Yang said at the meeting that the influence of the international economic crisis still exists at a deep level. He said that the economic development of the world and the Asia-Pacific region faces severe challenges and various forms of protectionism are rearing their ugly heads again.
As a result, he said, it is necessary to strengthen regional cooperation, especially concerning economy and trade.
China believes that regional economic cooperation should uphold equity and tolerance, openness and fairness, sustainable development, mutual benefit and all-win, Yang said.
He said that efforts should be made to promote the establishment of a multilateral trade system in a future period of time and to support the Doha Round of trade negotiations.
Steps also should be taken to steadily advance the establishment of an Asia-Pacific free trade zone on the basis of the ASEAN 10+3 and ASEAN 10+6 frameworks in order to realize Asia-Pacific regional economic integration, Yang said.
The foreign minister called for efforts to advance green economies and nurture new areas of economic growth, and actively create jobs and encourage innovation.
Yang also emphasized the importance of APEC cooperation on reform involving the economic structure, of improving and making the mode of economic development more complete, and of transferring the ways of economic growth.
He called on APEC members to implement responsible macroeconomic policies, and properly deal with sovereign debt and financial risks.
Emerging market economies should actively boost domestic demand, promote their economic growth toward the direction of depending on the driving role of consumption, investment and exports, Yang said.
Yang also stressed the importance of boosting cooperation among APEC members to enhance the capacity to prevent and control natural disasters in the region and to alleviate the impact of them on people's lives and property and the regional economy.
The Chinese government pays great attention to disaster prevention and relief as well as disaster control, he said.
China is ready to share helpful experience with other APEC members and promote cooperation on disaster prevention and relief in the Asia-Pacific region and reduce damages caused by natural disasters, Yang said.
While talking about anti-corruption cooperation within APEC, Yang said APEC members should beef up political transparency on the basis of equity and mutual benefit, respecting each others' differences and focusing on effects.
China is willing to further cooperation with other APEC members to advance anti-corruption efforts and help create a better commercial environment in the region, promote the competitiveness of the region and make active contributions to its economic development, Yang said.
Meanwhile, Chen said it is an established tradition of APEC to support a multilateral trading system and oppose protectionism.
All members of the World Trade Organization, including the APEC economies, should show confidence in the multilateral trading system and send positive signals for global economic stability and development, the commerce minister said.
The Doha Round of trade negotiations should adhere to the aim of the Doha Round and not deviate from its development goals, Chen said. He said the WTO should always abide by the authorization of Doha Round, and not give up its negotiation achievements of the past 10 years.
WTO members should understand and make concessions to one another, narrow their differences and finally reach agreement on the basis of consolidating the existing achievements, Chen said.
WTO members should adopt a long-term perspective and make some concessions to promote the advancement of the Doha Round of trade negotiations, he added.
China supports Russia's accession to the WTO and hopes the forthcoming eighth WTO Ministerial Conference could make progress, Chen said.
Chen said, protectionism has revived since the Yokohama meeting in 2010, while it is relatively conspicuous that China has been subject to harm of protectionism.
From January to September, China has sustained 50 trade remedy investigations, involving three billion U.S. dollars. Chen appealed to all parties to be highly alert, and to take practical actions to resist and cancel all kinds of protectionism and make less use of, prudent use of and refrain from abusing trade remedy measures to prevent politicalization of economic and trade issues.
Regarding the next generation of trade and investment issues, Chen said that China generally holds an open attitude toward discussions about the next generation of trade and investment issues, but the relevant cooperation should be in respect of differences among economies and the Bogor Goals could not be played down or even replaced.
Regarding liberalization of trade in environmental products and services, Chen said that China respects the non-binding nature of the APEC forum, and holds a supportive and open attitude toward liberalization of trade in environmental products and services.
The member economies' different levels of economic development and technological capacities, Chen said, should be given full consideration in promoting liberalization of trade in environmental products, which not only require the contributions from developing members but also developed ones.
Otherwise, it would violate the principal of "common but differentiated responsibilities," Chen said.
Chen emphasized that APEC should firstly take full care of the concerns of developing countries. Secondly, efforts should be made to establish through cooperation a technological innovation system meeting the realities of all member economies, and jointly create a favorable environment for encouraging innovation.
Thirdly, he said, steps should be taken to encourage technology transfer and cooperation among member economies, and cancel discriminative policies that restrict the exports of high-tech products, in order to enable all member economies to enjoy the fruits of innovation.
On the sidelines of the summit, Yang exchanged views on bilateral ties and common concerns on international and regional issues with many of his foreign counterparts, including Australia's Kevin Rudd, Chile's Afredo Moreno, Mexico's Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, New Zealand's Murray Mccully and Canada's John Baird.
Chen, also on the sidelines of the meeting, met with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk; Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Canadian International Trade Minister Edward Fast, Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirijawan, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittirat Na Ranong and U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson.
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