�� The fifth Asia-Pacific Cooperative Ministers' Conference (APCMC) held its inauguration ceremony in Beijing Tuesday.

�� Chinese Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao attended the ceremony and delivered the opening address. "To realize sustainable success in the 21st century and to undertake glorious tasks for economic development and social progress, the cooperative movement calls for the support of the governments, and more importantly, the continuation of reforms in an effort to enhance its initiatives," he said.

�� Wen said it is advisable for every country to explore an approach for cooperative reform based on its own national conditions.

�� "The Chinese government has always attached great importance to the cooperative movement," he said, and efforts have been made in recent years to speed up cooperative reforms.

�� Wen noted that the Chinese government is ready to strengthen its exchanges and cooperation with countries in the Asia-Pacific region in the cooperative movement on the basis of equal consultation, mutual support, and mutual benefit.

�� Bai Lichen, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, also attended the ceremony.

�� The cooperative movement is faced with the challenge of globalization and intensifying competition, and China is facing greater competition as well, he said. "The only way out for the cooperative movement is to further promote reforms."

�� Roberto Rodrigues, chairman of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), said this fifth Asia-Pacific Cooperative Ministers ' Conference is by far the largest in terms of attendance and organization, compared with the previous ones held in Sydney, Jakarta, Colombo and Chiangmai.

�� "The ICA feels that the Cooperative Ministers' Conference is not a mere mechanism for interaction between the governments and cooperative movements. It is more important that it becomes a workable forum to engender new policy directions and provide cooperatives with a more enabling environment," Rodrigues said.

�� More than 300 representatives from the Asia-Pacific region, African and European countries were present at the gathering.