APEC Senior Officials Hold Informal Meeting in ShenzhenSenior officials from the 21 APEC member economies held an informal meeting in this Special Economic Zone of south China's Guangdong Province on Friday in advance of the Second Senior Officials Meeting (SOM II) of the 13th APEC Ministerial Meeting scheduled for June 2-3.The officials exchanged views on such issues as how APEC contributes to the early launching of a new round of WTO negotiations during the meeting. At the following SOM II, senior officials will continue their discussions on trade and investment liberalization, economic and technical cooperation among APEC members, new economy and regional macro-policy dialog, in preparation for the 9th APEC Informal Leadership Meeting and the 13th Ministerial Meeting in Shanghai next October. The SOM II will be presided over by Wang Guangya, vice foreign minister of China and SOM Chair. Prior to today's informal meeting, various committees and fora discussed the specific work of APEC in their respective fields at the related meetings on May 26-31. China plays host to all the four SOM meetings this year. The SOM I was held February in Beijing. APEC, one of the key economic forums in the region, has established a working mechanism ranging from informal leadership meetings, ministerial meetings to senior officials' meetings. |
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