Chinese President Jiang Zemin sent a congratulatory letter to the APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT), which opened here Wednesday in Shanghai, China's commercial and financial metropolis.

Shi Guangsheng, chair of the MRT meeting and Chinese Minster of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, read the letter to all delegates.

In the letter, Jiang extended congratulations to the meeting on behalf of the Chinese government, Chinese people and in his own name.

He said that APEC has been actively promoting economic and technical cooperation among its members, as well as trade and investment liberalization and facilitation since its establishment. It has played an important role in achieving economic and social development within this region, Jiang said.

He pointed out that economic globalization is still developing,and that science and technology is progressing with each passing day in the 21st century. The world economy is facing new changes, and opportunities coexist with challenges. All these will pose new requirements on the economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.

The meeting of ministers responsible for trade of APEC member economies and the discussions on major issues concerning regional and global economic and trade development are of important significance for the maintenance of a stable and open economic and trade environment in this region and the establishment of a fair and rational new world economic order, Jiang said.

He believed this meeting will achieve gratifying results and will lay down a good foundation for the 9th informal meeting of APEC member economies' leaders to be held in Shanghai in October.

(People's Daily 06/06/2001)