Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is the highest-level mechanism for economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. With 21 member economies and three observers – ASEAN Secretariat, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, and Pacific Islands Forum – it covers an extensive part of the world and wields significant influence.
The forum was formally established in November 1989 at a ministerial meeting in the Australian capital of Canberra, attended by Australia, the US, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Canada, and the then six ASEAN countries. China became an APEC member in November 1991.
As an economic forum, APEC focuses on global and regional economic issues such as trade and investment liberalization, regional economic integration, connectivity, economic structural reform and innovative development, global multilateral trade systems, economic and technological cooperation, and capacity building. Its primary goal is to safeguard the common interests of its member economies in the Asia-Pacific, increase their economic interdependence, create an open multilateral trade system, and reduce regional trade and investment barriers.
APEC operates at five institutional levels: meetings of economic leaders, ministerial meetings, meetings of senior officials, committees and working groups, and the Secretariat. China hosted the 2001 and 2014 APEC economic leaders meetings in Shanghai and in Beijing respectively, and has played an active role in promoting free and open regional trade and investment and stimulating regional and global economic growth.
亚太经济合作组织
亚太经济合作组织是亚太地区层级最高、领域最广、最具影响力的经济合作机制。1989年11月，澳大利亚、美国、日本、韩国、新西兰、加拿大及当时的东盟六国在澳大利亚首都堪培拉举行亚太经济合作组织首届部长级会议，标志着亚太经合组织的正式成立。1991年11月，中国正式加入亚太经合组织。亚太经合组织共有21个成员，以及东盟秘书处、太平洋经济合作理事会、太平洋岛国论坛秘书处3个观察员。作为经济论坛，亚太经合组织主要讨论与全球和区域经济有关的议题，如贸易和投资自由化、区域经济一体化、互联互通、经济结构改革和创新发展、全球多边贸易体系、经济技术合作和能力建设等，旨在维护本地区成员的共同利益，促进成员间的经济相互依存，加强开放的多边贸易体制，减少区域贸易和投资壁垒。亚太经合组织共有5个层次的运作机制 ：领导人非正式会议、部长级会议、高官会、委员会和工作组、秘书处。中国于2001年和2014年先后在上海和北京成功举办过两届亚太经合组织领导人非正式会议，为促进区域贸易和投资自由化便利化、推动全球和地区经济增长发挥了积极作用。