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APEC CEO Summit 2001 Opens in Shanghai
APEC CEO Summit 2001 Opens in Shanghai
APEC CEO Summit 2001, which is honored to have the top business people from 21 APEC member economies of the Asia-Pacific region as delegates, opens today in the Grand Hyatt Shanghai, Shanghai, China. Mr. Qian Qichen, Vice Premier of China, addresses the Summit on behalf of the Chinese Government and extends his cordial congratulation on its opening. Mr. Yu Xiaosong, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of APEC CEO Summit 2001 and the China Council for the Promotion of international Trade (CCPIT), and Mr. Xu Kuangdi, Mayor of Shanghai Municipal People's Government, also address the Summit.
Mr. Qian Qichen speaks highly of the important role that every previous APEC CEO Summit has played in promoting the economic prosperity and development of the Asia-Pacific region. "The APEC CEO Summit has set up a platform for communication and cooperation, which gives expression to the long-held APEC spirit of equality and cooperation. Today, the elite of the Asia-Pacific business community meet once again in Shanghai to express their views and discuss major issues under the theme of 'New Century, New Economy: Developing in the Globalizing World'. Chinese President Jiang Zemin and many leaders from other member economies will address the Summit. This will be an occasion under the new situation for important communication and exchanges between entrepreneurs as well as between entrepreneurs and governments. It will help increase cooperation between enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region as well as strengthen relations between the enterprises and governments," says Mr. Qian.
Mr. Qian points out that in the new century, the trend towards economic globalization has grown stronger. The New Economy has developed at an extraordinary speed. The economic situation in the Asia-Pacific region has undergone many changes. As major players in economic activities and technological innovation, enterprises are obviously under pressure from competition. However, a wider range of competition implies a wider range of cooperation at the same time. We stand for cooperation amidst competition, common development through cooperation and economic prosperity from common development, which will eventually lead to a better life for all people together. For enterprises from different APEC economies, it is entirely possible for them to bring into play their respective comparative advantages, boost inter-regional economic and technological cooperation, optimize the allocation of resources in a wider scope and on a greater scale and achieve an all-win outcome while seeking to maximize their profits.
Mr. Qian says that China's accession to the WTO is imminent at present. The Chinese market and the world market will be more closely integrated. China's economic development will also depend more on its economic exchanges and cooperation with other countries and regions in the world, especially the Asia-Pacific region. An open China cannot do without the world. After its entry into the WTO, China will honor its commitments and more vigorously advance its all-directional, multi-tiered and wide-ranging opening-up. China will further open up its domestic market, increase open areas and localities, take well-measured steps to open wider in such service sectors as finance, insurance, telecom, trade and tourism and actively explore new approaches and ways to utilize foreign capital. China, which is at a new historic starting point, faces unprecedented opportunities for trade and investment. He sincerely welcomes enterprises from various economies to China to grasp business opportunity and seek even greater progress.
In his speech, Mr. Yu Xiaosong says, "We are very glad to see that our delegates and speakers are of the best ones all over the world. Every one of them has his or her particular views on the economic development in the new century, and is confident in overcoming difficulties and in the progress of the human beings. It can be believed that the collision of their views will give birth to sparks of wisdom, which is our best expectation from the Summit. When the Summit concludes, we will say proudly that APEC CEO Summit 2001 will contribute a great deal to meeting challenges, reversing the slowdown tendency of the world economy, thus bringing it back into the right track in the APEC development process participated by the business community."
Mr. Xu Kuangdi, Mayor of Shanghai Municipal People's Government, extends his warm welcome to the delegates and his cordial congratulations on the opening of the Summit on behalf of Shanghai Municipal People's Government and the 13 million Shanghai citizens. He says that the opening up of Shanghai is in great need of further exchange and cooperation with all countries and regions all over the world in the fields of economy, science and technology, culture, etc. The hosting of APEC meetings this year undoubtedly offers Shanghai an opportunity hard to come by. Shanghai will further improve its investment environment and market order, and more vigorously face the opportunities and challenges brought by the economic globalization.
The main and auxiliary venues of the Summit are in the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel and the Grand Hyatt Shanghai respectively. The number of official delegates is over 500. The Summit will last from October 18 to October 20. During this period, leaders of some APEC member economies will address the Summit, including Mr. Jiang Zemin, President of China; Rt. Hon. Ms. Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand; H. E. Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia; H. E. Mr. Vicente Fox, President of Mexico; H. E. Mr. John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia; H. E. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Philippines; H. E. Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia; Mr. George W. Bush, President of the USA; and Mr. Tung Chee Hwa, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, China. A number of world-renowned economists and ministers from different APEC member economies will also deliver speeches at the Summit. Besides, the Organizing Committee of the Summit has also invited Mr. Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Chief Executive of Macao SAR, China, to attend the Summit and deliver a speech.
There are more than 500 CEOs of world-renowned companies from the 21 APEC member economies. Among them are over 300 overseas ones, including FedEx, HSBC, Hewlett-Packard, General Motors, Microsoft, Citigroup, Unocal, Nationwide, Deloitte, AOL Time Warner, Amway, Applied Materials, Goldman Sachs, Mitsui, etc. The Summit also has delegates from over 80 Chinese companies in sectors such as finance, automobile manufacture, steel, worldwide shipping, oil, electricity, transportation, trade, high-tech, etc.
The Opening Ceremony also witnesses the attendance of some Chinese ministers such as Mr. Zeng Peiyan, Minister, State Development Planning Commission, Mr. Li Rongrong, Minister, State Economic and Trade Commission, Mr. Xu Guanhua, Minister of Science & Technology, Mr. Zhang Zhongwei, Governor of Sichuan Province and Mr. Jiang Yiren, Vice Mayor of Shanghai Municipal People's Government, etc. The Opening Ceremony is chaired by Mr. Wan Jifei, Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee of APEC CEO Summit 2001 and of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).
The Opening Ceremony is immediately followed by a special session on China.
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