Amid a slow global economic recov- ery in recent years， the Asia-Pacific region， consisting of the most dynamic and hopeful economies on the globe， has maintained vigorous economic growth.
　　Under the theme Resilient Asia-Pacific， Engine of Global Growth， this year’s series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation（APEC） meetings were held from October 7-8 on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Chinese President Xi Jinping participated in the APEC informal economic leaders’meeting， equipped with proposals to boost regional economic ties and assertions that China will continue pursuing economic reform.
　　 China’s role in APEC
　　During the meeting， the Chinese president exchanged views with leaders of APEC members. He called on all regional members to further restructure their economies， oppose trade protectionism， and boost cross-Pacific interconnectivity. Xi also proposed that members increase the openness of their economies， as well as promote policy coordination， common development and the integration of interests in the area.
　　These proposals will help the region handle current challenges and formulate plans for the future， said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang believes China’s active role will help the region continue serving as an engine for world economic growth.
　　As the biggest developing country and emerging economy in the world， China’s economy and its development plans have been a subject of worldwide concern. In an address at the APEC meeting on October 7， Xi warned against a world trade regime fragmented by various competing free trade arrangements， and called for resuming the long-stalled Doha Round of global trade talks by the World Trade Organization （WTO）. He also noted that as the international community works to advance the Doha Round， various free trade arrangements in the Asia-Pacific region are advancing in parallel， each with different rules， standards and preferred paths.
　　China believes that “the arrangement should lead to a cooperative relationship， not a confrontational one； an open mindset， not an exclusive one； win-win results， not a zero-sum game； and integration， not fragmentation，” as Xi said， promising that China is willing to provide capital assistance to developing countries in the region for their infrastructure construction projects.
　　Qu Xing， President of China Institute of International Studies（CIIS）， pointed out that the president’s promise shows China’s full confidence and sincerity behind regional cooperation. By speaking of an Asia-Pacific community with a common destiny and shared values， President Xi’s suggestions indicated practical goals for regional cooperation， said Qu. He said that an infrastructure construction investment bank， if established and put into operation， would greatly help make full use of APEC members’ extra capital， promote economic development of regional economies， and narrow gaps between them. 　　Liu Chenyang， a researcher on APEC studies with Tianjin-based Nankai University， said， “Regional cooperation must be based on principles such as voluntariness and common interests.” He went on to add that，“China has shown its influence and leadership in the region， not only because of its heightened economic strength， but also because its proposals satisfy most APEC members’ growth demands.”
　　The Chinese president also said China will continue deepening its reforms to ensure stable economic growth， stating his full confidence in the vitality of the Chinese economy.“I am confident first and foremost because China’s growth rate is within the reasonable and expected range，” said Xi， adding that “everything has been going as expected and nothing has come as a surprise.”
　　China’s economy recently underwent a slowdown， decreasing from the previous double-digit growth rates to 9.3 percent in 2011， 7.8 last year and 7.6 in the first half of this year. President Xi said such a growth speed is accept- able. An annual speed of 7 percent is enough to realize China’s goal of doubling GDP and percapita income between 2010 and 2020.
　　Yuan Gangming， a researcher with Tsinghua University， agreed that the slowdown was temporary and noted that the huge potential for increased consumption will likely lead to a higher economic growth rate.
　　“China is drawing up a master plan for the deepening of reform in all respects，” said Xi. He added that challenges cropping up in development and institutional obstacles will be targeted， so as to create new impetus for economic expansion through reform in a balanced manner. To overcome those challenges and obstacles， China will improve its basic economic system， reform the administrative system and enhance innovation， Xi said.
　　Kuang Xianming， Director of the Research Center for Economy with the China Institute for Reform and Development， said Xi’s comments struck a tone for the country’s reform and policy making in the coming years.“The robust domestic consumption engines are most important in a country like China， with its huge population，”Kuang said. “Xi’s speech expressed a determination to push reforms while remaining alert to potential risks，” he added.
　　 Key functions of APEC
　　APEC leaders conducted extensive discussions on issues most related to the region’s growth， agreeing on strategic points about regional development. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the APEC meeting was “successful” and “very productive.” Chinese observers believed that APEC’s function is irreplaceable in the region， suggesting this intergovernmental organization will play a bigger role after innovations are implemented. 　　The 21st informal economic leaders’ meeting of APEC asserted that a strong multilateral trading system is a key driver for economic growth， job creation and sustainable development. According to a joint declaration of APEC leaders， they remain committed to attaining the Bogor Goals by 2020. The goals， with open and free trade and investment as main objectives， will serve to promote economic cooperation among APEC members in sharing and providing opportunities among stakeholders.
　　Qu of CIIS pointed out that this year’s APEC meeting has revived Asia-Pacific economies’confidence in regional development. The United States has recently delayed its plan to quit quantitative easing， showing a lack of confidence in its domestic economic recovery， added Qu.
　　The leaders agreed to fight against protectionist and trade-distorting measures while recognizing the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks is at an impasse. The leaders also reached a consensus on speeding up institutional and people-to-people connectivity to improve the business climate， reduce production and transportation costs， and improve supply chains in the region. Qu believed that trade protectionism under the international economic and financial crisis has betrayed the WTO’s basic principle of free and just trade. The APEC leaders’ decision to deepen multilateral trade is very significant ahead of the upcoming WTO ministerial meeting.
　　Vice President of CIIS Ruan Zongze stressed that pursuing the Bogor Goals is highly important to the organization. He pointed out that trade protectionism has emerged in various countries and regions in the post-crisis era. In protesting trade protectionism， APEC has boosted its cooperative momentum and promoted its future global economic function， Ruan added.
　　In 1994， APEC members convening in the Indonesian city of Bogor set the goal of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region， which has since remained the impetus behind APEC’s agenda. The Bogor Goals， which acknowledge members’varying levels of socio-economic development， set 2010 for developed members and 2020 for developing members as time- lines to achieve free trade and investment. According to a 2012 progress report issued by APEC Policy Support Unit， the average tariff in the region has been reduced from 17 percent in 1989 to 5.8 percent in 2012， much lower than the average 10.3 percent in other regions. APEC member economies have been working to open their service trade， improve investment conditions， align with international standards， strengthen intellectual property rights and competition systems， and push for regulatory reforms in past years. 　　The Asia-Pacific’s contribution to the world economy is self-evident. APEC’s 21 member economies are expected to grow by 6.3 percent in 2013 and 6.6 percent in 2014， according to the International Monetary Fund（IMF）. In July， the IMF revised downwards its growth forecasts for global output. World GDP is expected to grow 3.1 percent in 2013 and 3.8 percent in 2014.
　　The 2014 APEC meeting will be held in Beijing. China hopes to use that opportunity to work closely with all parties to encourage APEC economies to build closer partnerships and make APEC play a greater leadership role in mapping out the long-term development goals of the Asia-Pacific region， Xi said.
　　In 2001， the APEC meeting was held in Shanghai under the theme of Meeting New Challenges in the New Century： Achieving Common Prosperity through Participation and Cooperation.
　　 About APEC
　　As a 21-member forum， APEC seeks to boost free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
　　APEC is an inter-governmental organization that works on the basis of non-binding commitments， open dialogue and equal respect for the views of all participants. It now accounts for approximately 55 percent of global GDP， 44 percent of global trade， and 40 percent of the world’s population， according to data provided on its official website.
　　The first APEC Ministerial Meeting was held in 1989 in Canberra， Australia.
　　At the meeting in 1994 in Bogor， Indonesia， APEC leaders adopted the Bogor Goals that targets free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for industrialized economies and by 2020 for developing economies.
　　APEC’s institutional framework consists of the Economic Leaders’ Meeting， the Ministerial Meeting， the Senior Officials’ Meeting， a committee and special working groups.
　　APEC currently groups 21 members， namely Australia， Brunei， Canada， Chile， China， China’s Hong Kong， Chinese Taipei， Indonesia， Japan， Malaysia， Mexico， New Zealand， Papua New Guinea， Peru， the Philippines， Russia， Singapore， South Korea， Thailand， the United States and Viet Nam. The location of the meeting rotates annually among APEC members.
　　（Source： Xinhua News Agency）
　　 Chinese President Calls for Regional Connectivity
　　Chinese President Xi Jinping called for building a framework of connectivity across the AsiaPacific region through a four-point proposal at APEC economic leaders’ informal meeting on October 8 in Bali. 　　First， APEC economies should establish a connectivity network covering the whole Asia Pacific， so as to help bolster the construction of economic corridors in various subregions and foster a vast Asia-Pacific market covering 21 economies and 2.8 billion people. Efforts should be made to secure the free flow of production materials in the region and steadily enhance the coordinated development among Asia-Pacific members in order to achieve regional integration.
　　Second， APEC economies should remove the bottlenecks barring connectivity， and establish investment and financing partnerships with extensive participation from governments， private sectors， and international institutions. China stands ready to explore and expand investment and financing channels for infrastructure construction and proposes the establishment of an Asian infrastructure investment bank.
　　Third， APEC members should promote connectivity and infrastructure construction within the framework of regional and international cooperation. All members should enhance communication and actively participate in cooperation in the spirit of mutual benefit， complementary advantages， and adhering to the principle of open， transparent， and win-win cooperation.
　　Fourth， APEC members should take advantage of connectivity to help people in the AsiaPacific region establish closer links in economy and trade， finance， education， science and culture， and enhance mutual understanding and trust.
　　 Boosting Regional Development
　　Chinese President Xi Jinping made a three-point proposal on regional development in his key-note speech on October 8 in Bali：
　　First， APEC members should strengthen coordination on macroeconomic policies and jointly promote regional development.
　　Second， unremitting efforts should be made to maintain financial stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Countries should prevent financial risks from triggering political and social unrests.
　　Third， members should deepen economic restructuring to inject more vitality into sustainable development.
　　（Source： Xinhua News Agency）