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Map of 21 APEC members.
The 2014 meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, will be held in Beijing this month. With the theme “Shaping the Future through Asia-Pacific Partnership”, APEC leaders will discuss how to better integrate economies and trade in the Asia-Pacific region and worldwide.
What is APEC?
APEC is an intergovernmental grouping of countries in the Asia Pacific region that discusses issues using non-binding commitments. Unlike the World Trade Organization or other multilateral trade bodies, APEC does not require treaty obligations of its participants. Decisions made within APEC are reached by consensus and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis.
APEC has 21 members from member economies, which account for approximately 40 percent of the world’s population, approximately 55 percent of world GDP and about 44 percent of world trade.
Members include Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Republic of the Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of America; Vietnam.
Video Courtesy of APEC.
When and where is APEC this year?
The 2014 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week will be hosted by China, and will take place in Beijing Nov. 5-11.
Proceedings:APEC Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting: Beijing, 5-6 November
Guided by China Vice Foreign Minister and Chair of the 2014 APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting Li Baodong, APEC Senior Officials from member economies will finalize a package of new growth-enhancing measures.
APEC Ministerial Meeting: Beijing, 7-8 November
Hosted by China Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi and Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, and including both the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministers from the other 20 APEC economies, the meeting will decide the contours of joint policy development and implementation moving forward.
APEC CEO Meeting: Beijing, 9-10 November
An open dialogue held in conjunction with the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week and organized by the private sector featuring the region’s Leaders and business heads.
APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting: Yanqi Lake, 10-11 November
Chaired by China President Xi Jinping and including the Leaders of the other 20 APEC economies, the meeting will provide strategic vision and directives for future collaboration.
Who will be at the meeting?
Leaders of the 21 APEC members including Chinese president Xi Jinping, U.S. president Barack Obama, Russian president Vladimir Putin will attend the APEC meeting.
What subjects they will discuss?
- Trade and Investment Liberalization: APEC works to reduce tariffs and remove other obstructions to free trade.
- Business Facilitation: APEC facilitates business interactions between member nations by reducing the cost of doing business, sharing trade information, and improving the relationships of importers and exporters.
- Economic and Technical Cooperation: Member nations work to improve training and education in international trade.
What outcomes can be expected from APEC this year?
This year’s meeting is expected to achieve new breakthroughs in three main areas:
- Launch the process of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) to achieve regional economic integration.
- Identify and discuss five areas of cooperation for Asia-Pacific economic development: Economic reform, new economies, innovative growth, inclusive support, and urbanization.
- Promote interconnected development and create a new blueprint for establishing comprehensive connectivity in the Asia-Pacific through roads, railways, shipping lanes.
Reports compiled with the information from www.apec.org; Xinhua, CCTV NEWS, Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Infographic courtesy of CCTV NEWS.
