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APEC SOM III & Related Meetings to Be Held in Dalian
The Third Senior Officials Meeting (SOM III) of the 13th APEC Ministerial Meeting and related meetings are to be held from August 16 to 24 in Dalian, a coastal city in northeast China's Liaoning Province.
The SOM III, to be held from August 23 to 24, will be presided over by Wang Guangya, vice foreign minister of China and SOM Chair.
This is the last SOM formal meeting to be held before the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in October.
Senior officials from 21 APEC members will gather in Dalian to continue their discussions on trade and investment liberalization, economic and technical cooperation of APEC, new economy and regional macro-policy dialogue, with the aim of preparing for the 9th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and the 13th Ministerial Meeting held in Shanghai.
The SOM III will also hold a retreat on August 22 to exchange views on content of documents for APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and the Ministerial Meeting.
Starting August 16, various committees and forums under SOM are expected to discuss the specific work of APEC in their respective fields at SOM related meetings, which will last till August 21.
Dalian is one of the fastest-growing coastal cities in China. With its gorgeous natural scenery and clean environment, Dalian was conferred the title of "Global 500" by UN Environment Program.
Sources from Dalian revealed that the coastal city has made all necessary preparations for the SOM III and related meetings.
Dalian Mayor Li Yongjin said that all preparatory work is going smoothly, and the city will welcome SOM officials with a new image and spirit.
China has hosted all three SOM meetings this year and other APEC-related conferences, in the run-up to the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting scheduled in Shanghai October. The SOM I and SOM II were held respectively in Beijing and Shenzhen in February and June this year.
APEC, one of the key economic forums in the region, has established a working mechanism ranging from economic leaders' meetings to ministerial meetings, senior officials' meetings, secretariat committees, groups and advisory council.
Founded in 1989, APEC stands as the highest level economic cooperation forum of the Asia-Pacific region, covering cooperative fields such as free trade and investment, economic and technical cooperation, dialogue on macro-economic policies.
The organization so far has 21 members -- China, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
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