CHINA / APEC Summit
Hu outlines need for regional stability
By Sun Shangwu (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-20 05:11
HANOI: President Hu Jintao urged members of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Co-operation (APEC) to seek peaceful solutions to conflicts to create a
stable environment for development.
"When disputes and problems occur that may affect regional stability, we
need to enhance trust, remove misunderstanding, reduce differences and
defuse conflicts through dialogue, consultation and negotiation and seek
peaceful resolution of such disputes and problems," he said.
His remarks on Saturday at the first session of the 14th APEC Economic
Leaders' Meeting came in the wake of the nuclear crisis in the Korean
Peninsula, sparked by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear
test early last month. China, as host of the Six-Party Talks, advocates
dialogue to solve the problem.
Hu asked all members to crack down hard on terrorism and transnational
crime of all forms and pay special attention to addressing their root
causes.
In response to deep-rooted structural problems hindering economic and
social progress in the region, Hu urged developed APEC members to act
with long-term interests in mind and take effective steps to narrow the
development gap and promote common prosperity.
"This concerted effort will help to achieve comprehensive, co-ordinated
and sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific economy," he noted.
The Chinese President called for win-win co-operation to handle global
and regional challenges.
The Asia-Pacific still faces issues such as high energy prices,
imbalances in economic development and major communicable diseases,
according to Hu.
"Common challenges often create opportunities of co-operation. We should
seize opportunities, meet challenges, expand common interests and strive
for win-win progress," he said.
He told APEC leaders to "be open and inclusive" because there are a
number of regional and sub-regional co-operation mechanisms in the
Asia-Pacific region.
"We should support their parallel development so as to foster in the
Asia-Pacific an environment of co-operation that is open and inclusive
and that thrives on diversity. We should also be open towards mechanisms
in other regions and be committed to open regionalism," he added.
Leaders of the 21 member economies of APEC began their annual meeting in
Hanoi on Saturday to facilitate free trade and promote sustainable
development in the region.
During the close-door meeting, the leaders approved a Hanoi Action Plan
for implementing the Busan Roadmap towards the Bogor Goals.
APEC leaders in 2005 developed a blueprint in Busan, South Korea, for
improving trade and investment facilitation measures. According to the
Bogor Goals set out in 1994 in Indonesia, free and open trade and
investment in the APEC region will be achieved by 2010 for industrialized
economies and 2020 for developing economies.
President Hu said that APEC should play a greater role in the following
areas:
First, support the development of the multilateral trading system. A
stable and healthy multilateral trading system is crucial to the growth
of both the global economy and the economy of the Asia-Pacific.
"Should the Doha Round of negotiations fail, no country will gain any
benefit," said Hu. "The top priority now is to resume negotiations
swiftly, reach agreement on key issues and deliver in good faith the
commitment that the Doha Round is a round of development."
Second, strive to meet the Bogor Goals, which chart the future course of
APEC and are a criterion for gauging the performance of the organization.
China supports the Hanoi Plan of Action aimed at attaining the Bogor
Goals as scheduled.
Third, enhance economic and technical co-operation, which is an important
means to narrow the development gap and promote common prosperity.
In recent years, a number of new problems and challenges have emerged in
areas of financial security, energy security and public health security.
Many APEC members lack adequate experience and capacity to respond to
them.
"We should increase input, make our co-operation more effective and
focused and help developing members of APEC improve their international
competitiveness and their capacity to meet challenges," he added.
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