by Liu Chenyang
TIANJIN, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- In the declaration issued on the occasion of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, the APEC members reaffirmed their common desire to jointly advance the Asia-Pacific regional cooperation in the face of changing times and unprecedented challenges, thereby keeping the Asia-Pacific region most dynamic and interconnected worldwide.
Currently, economic and trade volumes of the Asia-Pacific region account for approximately 60 percent and 50 percent of the global total, respectively, making it the most densely distributed region in terms of global industry and supply chains, and the main engine driving world economic growth.
APEC members should make full use of diversified regional cooperation mechanisms in the region, in their quest to practically promote the construction of an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future, and do so on the basis of seeking common ground while managing differences.
This is not only the fundamental path to achieving prosperity and stability in the region amid an increasingly complex international and regional situation, but also an important contribution to building an open world economy and improving the global governance system.
APEC members should maintain the stability of industry and supply chains in the region by deepening and expanding trade and investment cooperation, curbing the risks of decoupling and fragmentation of the Asia-Pacific economy triggered by geopolitical games, and laying a solid foundation for promoting the construction of an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.
APEC members must focus on strengthening connectivity, including infrastructure construction, personnel exchanges and regulatory integration -- thereby creating a better regional environment and establishing basic conditions for industry and supply chain cooperation.
Advancing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) agenda is of great significance to the deepening of regional integration and prevention of economic fragmentation. Notably, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) took effect in 2018 and 2022, respectively. Now is the right time to achieve substantial breakthroughs to make the FTAAP a reality.
In addition, APEC members should also strengthen cooperation in the digital economy and innovative growth.
The digital divide in the Asia-Pacific region has gradually extended from the fields of infrastructure and technology applications to industrial chain restructuring in recent years. Consequently, the call for developing APEC members to narrow this digital divide through Asia-Pacific cooperation is growing louder.
APEC members should prioritize exploration of the role of the digital economy in reducing imbalances in economic and social development, deepen cooperation in improving communication and network infrastructure, promote the transfer and application of digital technology, and strengthen digital talent capacity building, thus allowing people to share the dividends of digital economic development more fully and equally.
Members should also continue to promote cooperation in areas such as climate change and low-carbon transformation, food and energy security, public health security, and disaster prevention and mitigation.
Since joining the APEC in 1991, China has played an active role in promoting APEC cooperation, hosting its annual meeting in 2001 and 2014 respectively.
In 2026, China will host the annual APEC meeting for a third time. China stands ready to enhance communication and cooperation with other parties to jointly implement the Putrajaya Vision 2040, advance the building of an Asia-Pacific community and the FTAAP, and inject fresh impetus into the economic growth of the Asia-Pacific and beyond. Enditem
(Editor's note: the author is director of the APEC Study Center at Nankai University in Tianjin, China.)
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