Wrapup: Chinese Foreign, Trade Ministers Meet APEC Counterparts

Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Minister Shi Guangsheng, who will jointly chair the ministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on Wednesday and Thursday, met their respective counterparts on Tuesday.

In his meetings with his counterparts from South Korea, the Philippines, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam, Tang thanked them for their support for China's organizing efforts.

Through organizing this year's APEC meetings, China hopes to accelerate the APEC process so that APEC economies could be better placed in face of globalization, Tang said.

Under the current world economic situation, Tang said, China hopes the Shanghai meetings can help further push forward regional economic cooperation, contributing to the overall development of the world economy.

Tang discussed bilateral relations with the five APEC foreign ministers and exchanged views with them on anti-terror cooperation and international and regional issues such as the Middle East.

Tang said the impacts on world economy of the September 11 terrorist attacks on United States should not be underestimated, adding that Asia-Pacific economies have been more or less felt the pinch. Under the circumstances, the mechanisms of APEC as well as of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus three (China, South Korea and Japan) should be brought into full play and regional cooperation should be strengthened so that the economies could come up against the challenges together.

In a meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Teofisto Guingona Jr., Tang said he was saddened by the killing of two Chinese hostages by Philippine kidnappers and expressed concern for the safety of another Chinese national, Zhang Zhongyi, who is still in captivity. He asked the Philippine government to seek the early release of Zhang and take measures to ensure the safety of all Chinese in the Philippines. Guingona expressed his condolences and promised to secure the release of Zhang.

Shi met his counterparts, among others, from South Korea, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore.

In his meeting with Jim Sutton, New Zealand minister for trade negotiations, Shi called for more cooperation between the two countries in their competition for greater market shares by taking advantage of their complementary economies.

Shi said the two countries have always maintained a friendly and practical relationship and should work together to push bilateral economic and trade cooperation to a higher level.

Sutton said he supports China's proposal on the promotion of cooperation among APEC economies and a new round of negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the spirit of consultations on an equal footing and balanced representation of the interests of all sides.

The New Zealand minister said he is looking forward to China's entry into the WTO in the near future and believes that bilateral economic and trade relations will develop further.

In a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Hwang Doo-yun, the two men exchanged views on relevant topics of the ministerial meeting. Both held that APEC meetings held so far this year have made new progress in strengthening the multilateral trade system, promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and economic and technical cooperation.

Both sides expressed the willingness to strengthen bilateral cooperation in APEC and other multilateral spheres, and to make good preparations for the successful convening of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

In an interview with Xinhua earlier Tuesday, Shi said China's participation in the APEC process is of great significance.

Shi said China has had very close trade and economic ties with other members of the APEC.

Since China joined APEC in 1991, he noted, its trade with other APEC members has kept at more than 70 percent of the country's total trade volume. Direct overseas investment in China from APEC members has made up more than 60 percent of all direct overseas investment in the country, and nine of China's top 10 trading partners are APEC economies.

"It is of great significance for China to actively participate in the APEC process," Shi said.

Participation in the APEC process, Shi said, has helped China closely follow the latest development of global economic cooperation and thus make appropriate plans for its future reform and opening up.

He noted that in line with the APEC process and its own needs for development, China has

drastically lowered its tariff rates several times over the past years, with its average import tariff rate cut down to around 15 percent by 2000.

Besides, Shi said, participation in the APEC process has been conducive to creating a more stable and widely open exterior environment for China by increasing market access in the international market.

"Chinese enterprises and their products are much more competitive than ever and a larger overseas market will provide them with even more business opportunities," he added.

Participation in the APEC process will also offer opportunities for China to learn advanced science and technology and managerial expertise from other APEC members, he said, adding that China has already learnt a lot in areas like government procurement, international electronic business administration, and customs procedures.

By increasing economic and technological cooperation with other APEC economies, Shi said, China will be able to keep abreast with the latest developments in the world's scientific and technical fields, elevating its own technical levels.






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