8th APEC Finance Ministers Meeting Opens in SuzhouChinese Finance Minister Xiang Huaicheng chaired the current meeting, one of the series of ministerial meetings hosted by China this year with the culmination of APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting due in October. The meeting attracted wide attention because global economy showed slowdown and major regional economies also experienced downturn growth. The theme of the meeting is "growth with restructuring, stability and equity". The three sub-themes include strengthening dialog on macroeconomic policies to promote economic and financial stability and sustainable economic growth; deepening structural adjustment and reform, establishing a sound financial system to build a solid foundation for sustainable economic growth; and boosting economic growth on a fair and equitable basis in order to minimize the adverse impact and maximize broad-based benefits in the process of globalization and to ensure that the majority of people benefit from globalization. During the two-day meeting, delegates will discuss global and regional economic situation and hold informal talks on issues of mutual interests. They will also discuss the strategic goals of the meeting with APEC Financiers Group, APEC Business Advisory Council, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and APEC Economic Committee. The meeting will pass a joint ministerial statement, Progress Report on Reforming International Financial Architecture, and Finance Ministers' Input to the Leaders Declaration. Some 280 delegates from all APEC economies as well as the regional and international organizations attended the meeting. APEC Finance Ministers Meeting was launched in 1994. Its mission is to implement the directives from the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, promote consultation among APEC economies on macroeconomic policy and major financial and fiscal issues and promote regional economic stability and growth. |
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