On November 19, 2008, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Minister of Commerce Chen Deming attended the 20th Ministerial Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Lima, Peru and delivered a speech respectively, elaborating the position and proposition of the Chinese government on related issues.

Concerning the international financial crisis, Yang said that the international community has taken actions and made coordinated efforts immediately after the outbreak of the crisis and adopted a series of countermeasures. The Chinese government has made timely policy readjustments, strengthened macro control and maintained the basic momentum of economic growth. The stable and relatively fast development of the Chinese economy is in itself a major contribution to maintaining the international financial stability and promoting world economic growth. The Chinese government has recently taken stronger measures of expanding domestic demand, which will stimulate the economic growth in China and contribute to the stable growth of the world economy as well. Chen noted that APEC members should pursue the fair and just trade multilateralism and open and inclusive regionalism and oppose unilateralism and trade protectionism in front of deteriorating financial crisis. The developed economies within APEC should shoulder greater responsibilities, honor their commitment to debt relief to the developing ones and refrain from lowering market access or reducing development assistance.

On the Doha round of WTO negotiations, Chen said the priority now is that all parties concerned must translate political will into tangible actions, and authorized by the Doha Declaration, adhere to the common consensus already reached, break the deadlock, push forward the negotiations so as to enter into a balanced and ambitious agreement as soon as possible, realize the development goals and ensure the core concerns of the developing members are addressed properly. China will unswervingly follow its basic national policy of opening up, abide by the WTO rules, fulfill its WTO obligations, play a responsible and constructive role in the Doha round, make joint efforts with all the other APEC members to make Asia and the Pacific into the most open, confident and energetic region in the world.

As to the reform and development of APEC, Yang pointed out that the organization should take the opportunity of its 20th anniversary next year to steadily push forward its own reform, increase efficiency and promote cooperation so as to better cope with changes in the regional situation, continue to grow and contribute more to improving the welfare of people of this region. The model of independent and voluntary, flexible and pragmatic and non-constrained cooperation based on consensus reached through consultations should be pursued, and special attention should be paid to the economic and technological cooperation.

Talking about the economic integration in Asia and the Pacific, Chen said that China supports the various efforts made by APEC to promote regional economic integration, realize the Bogor Goals as scheduled, accelerate trade and facilitate investment, build an enabling trade environment and boost trade and economic growth in this region.

On cooperation in the area of disaster relief, the Chinese government and people have received great sympathy and support from the international community including APEC members in the process of coping with the massive earthquake disaster hitting Wenchuan, Sichuan province, to which the Chinese side is deeply grateful, noted Yang. The APEC Principles on Disaster Response and Cooperation China proposed this year are widely acknowledged. He expressed hope that APEC will consider carrying out long-term cooperation projects in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction so as to accelerate the rebuilding of disaster-hit regions, develop the best practices of reconstruction and strengthen exchanges of experience.

Yang added that the efforts of promoting corporate citizenship within the framework of APEC should comply with the themes of economic cooperation and aim at enhancing corporate competitiveness, improving the regional environment of trade and investment and promoting the economic and social progress in an all-round, coordinated and sustainable manner in the region. While pursuing the maximum economic returns, enterprises should follow a prudent, well-thought-out and responsible approach in market operations, take into full account the stability of the overall economy and handle risks and hidden threats carefully in order to minimize the impact on the economy and people’s life of all countries and regions.