SPECIAL FOR APEC 2024: Achievements of Future-Oriented APEC Development and China's Actions
The 31st APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be held in Lima, Peru, next week.
To help readers better understand the achievements of APEC development and China's actions, Xinhua Institute, a think tank affiliated with China’s Xinhua News Agency, on Saturday published in Lima a think tank report titled "Jointly Promoting High-Quality Development and Building an Asia-Pacific Community with a Shared Future".
The report, which was released at the Annual Meeting on Pragmatic Cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Framework between Peru and China, is divided into three parts -- Focusing on Development: Creating a Remarkable "Asia-Pacific Miracle" Together; Facing Challenges: Meeting the Era's Responsibilities; and Continuing the Glory: Achieving Common Prosperity Through Joint Efforts.
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
Chapter I Focusing on Development: Creating a Remarkable "Asia Pacific Miracle" Together
Since its establishment in 1989, APEC has made significant contributions to global economic development. In 2023, the total GDP of the 21 APEC economies reached USD 64.45 trillion, accounting for over 60% of global GDP. The GDP growth rate was 3.5%, surpassing the global average of 3.2%. The number of people living in extreme poverty in the Asia Pacific region has decreased from 1.5 billion in 1990 to 260 million in 2015.
The higher economic growth rate of APEC economies is primarily driven by increasing internal demand and mutual trade. The economies in the Asia-Pacific region exhibit significant complementarities in terms of eco nomic development levels, factor endowments, and policies, which fosters closer value-added trade and value chain connections within the region, laying the groundwork for inclusive and win-win development.
Strong trade demand and a secure, stable environment have propelled the rapid development of international shipping, trade, and finance in the Asia-Pacific region.
China has become the largest trading partner for 13 APEC economies. In 2022, the total import and export volume between China and APEC members reached USD 3,739.08 billion, accounting for 59.7% of China's total trade. Investments from APEC economies constituted 86.6% of China's actual foreign capital utilization, while 73.3% of China's outbound investment flowed into APEC economies. Notably, half of China's top 10 sources of foreign investment and top 10 destinations for outbound direct investment are APEC members.
Trade and investment liberalization and facilitation within the APEC framework have made the Asia-Pacific region an exemplary model of regional economic integration. Tariff and non-tariff barriers have been significantly reduced. Over the past 30 years, the average tariffs in the Asia-Pacific region fell from 17% to 5%, contributing 70% to global economic growth. Meanwhile, from 1989 to 2022, the total trade in goods and services within the APEC region surged from USD 3.1 trillion to USD 30 trillion, with an average annual growth rate of about 7.4%, substantially outpacing trade growth in other parts of the world.
China advocates for multilateralism and adheres to open regionalism, with its ideas and proposals widely recognized by APEC members. As a key economy in the Asia-Pacific region, China has actively engaged in APEC cooperation. From the high-quality implementation of RCEP and the negotiations for Version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to the active promotion of its accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), China is committed to practicing open regionalism and fostering new systems for a higher-standard open economy.
The development philosophy is guided by innovation. Connectivity drives coordinated regional development. The blueprint for connectivity in the Asia-Pacific meets the needs of economies in the region to strengthen economic and trade exchanges, advance industrialization, and deepen international cooperation. It aims to expand investment and domestic demand in the Asia-Pacific, increase employment, reduce poverty, curb extremism, and inject new impetus into economic growth in the region and beyond.
With project construction as the focal point, APEC economies have steadily advanced cooperation in major areas such as "smart cities", "smart hospitals", and "smart infrastructure" to assist regional economies in their intelligent transformation and development. In this process, China has played an active role.
To date, China has signed inter 8 governmental science and technology cooperation agreements with over 80 countries, supported more than 1,100 joint research projects, and co-established over 50 joint lab oratories and 70 overseas industrial parks under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Furthermore, China has established bilateral cooperation mechanisms for "Silk Road E-commerce" with 23 countries and has deepened cross-border e-commerce projects and electronic commerce cooperation with Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and others.
Green development is one of the important areas for APEC's future development cooperation. Multi-dimensional forest protection and innovation have led to remarkable achievements in forest conservation. According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, global forest area has decreased by 1.2% over the past decade, but forest area in the Asia-Pacific region has experienced significant growth, mainly contributed by China, Vietnam, and Chile, with China's forest area increasing by 9.53%. Over the past decade, China has contributed about a quarter of the world's newly added green area, ranking first globally.
APEC economies are jointly promoting marine protection and sustainable marine development. In 2011, the APEC Marine Sustainable Development Center was established in Xiamen, China. The APEC Blue Economy Forum, as a regular project of the APEC Marine Sustainable Development Center, had successfully held seven sessions by December 2023, providing a platform for representatives of various economies to share practical experiences and suggestions on the cooperation framework of the blue economy. In February 2024, the 22nd APEC Ocean and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG) Plenary Meeting was held in Lima, Peru, where the economies reported on the completion of the roadmaps and discussed future planning for oceans and fisheries.
The Asia-Pacific new energy vehicle market has demonstrated strong performance and a clear growth trend. Energy cooperation has promising prospects, focusing on structural optimization and upgrading.
Chapter II Facing Challenges: Meeting the Era's Responsibilities
Geopolitical tensions and conflicts impact the security environment both within and outside the Asia-Pacific region. Geopolitical conflicts have triggered food and energy crises, causing knock-on effects on the economic and social security of the Asia-Pacific region. This region is already highly sensitive to food-related risks. According to a report by the Food and Agricul ture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, half of the world's undernourished population reside in the Asia-Pacific, with women being particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. Although the incidence of malnutrition in APEC economies has decreased from 3.6% to 2.3% between 2010 and 2023, food security continues to be a significant constraint on development in the Asia-Pacific region. In terms of energy, energy consumption in the Asia-Pacific region has grown rapidly in recent years.
In this context, the turbulence in international energy and food markets, along with the surge in energy and food prices caused by geopolitical conflicts, has significantly impacted the economic and social stability of economies in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly developing economies.
The momentum of cross-border investment has declined, hitting developing economies particularly hard. Some countries engage in the practices of "decoupling and severing chains" and "small yards with high fences", endangering regional industrial development. For political reasons and trade protection motives, certain countries attempt to exclude their perceived "competitors" from industrial and supply chains. This practice not only contradicts the original aspiration and objectives of APEC, but also seriously hinders international economic and technological cooperation, significantly increases production costs, and harms regional industrial development.
Additionally, some countries have introduced large-scale exclusive and discriminatory industrial policies that disrupt the reasonable division of labor in global industries, attempting to forcibly promote the "return" of manufacturing to their own territories. This has significantly impacted the lives of their own populations, especially low-income groups
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The economic development levels among economies in the Asia-Pacific region vary significantly, creating a clear phenomenon of polarization. The wealth gap between different groups continues to widen. Data released by the World Bank show that the Gini coefficient in several Asia-Pacific economies has remained persistently high, and in some cases, has even increased. Despite overall economic growth, social wealth has not been equitably distributed, resulting in a substantial number of people living below the poverty line. This widening gap between the rich and the poor not only impacts social stability but also undermines the sustainability of economic growth.
The economies of the Asia-Pacific region have diverse natural conditions, but they are largely impacted by climate change. Frequent natural disasters result in significant economic losses. The Asia-Pacific region is still grappling with a worsening problem of environmental pollution. Land desertification intensifies pressure on sustainable development.
In addition, against the backdrop of global climate change, the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and typhoons. Extreme heat exacerbates the evaporation of surface water and reduces soil moisture, thereby intensifying the desertification process. Moreover, extreme precipitation events, particularly heavy rainfall over a short duration, can lead to severe soil erosion and degradation, further damaging land resources.
Chapter III Continuing the Glory: Achieving Common Prosperity Through Joint Efforts
Thirty-one years ago, where humanity should be headed in the post-Cold War era was the question of the world, of history and of the times in front of Asia-Pacific leaders. In response, they followed the trend toward peace and development, and convened the inaugural APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. They agreed unanimously to rise above the outdated mentality of bloc confrontation and zero-sum game, deepen eco nomic cooperation and integration in the region, and build a dynamic, harmonious and prosperous Asia-Pacific community.
Today, although the Asia-Pacific region is facing new disputes and frictions due to various factors, and signs of unilateralism and bloc confrontation have emerged in certain countries and regions, it is undeniable that Asia-Pacific economic cooperation has never been a zero-sum political game in which one gains at the expense of the other. Rather, the cooperation has provided regional members with a development platform to ensure what they each do can be mutually reinforcing and beneficial to all.
In the future, APEC should continue to focus on development, promote the spirit of partnership featuring harmony without uniformity, and solidarity and mutual assistance, adhere to the APEC approach of voluntarism, consensus-building, flexibility, pragmatism and incremental progress, respect each member's right to development and their chosen development path, strive to enhance the capacity of developing members for independent development, and continuously transform the diversity of APEC members into a driving force for cooperation.
Reaffirming the APEC spirit, APEC will continue to serve as a key mechanism for regional cooperation. Harmony and inclusiveness are the common aspirations of the Asia-Pacific. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said, "No peace is secure without inclusive and sustainable development that leaves no one behind."
Development and cooperation remain the eternal themes of the Asia-Pacific region, and the building of an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future aligns with the trends of the times.
Looking ahead to 2035, China will basically realize socialist modernization, and Chinese modernization will offer new opportunities for advancing high-quality development in the Asia-Pacific. China's economy remains the largest engine for global growth and the biggest driving force for the takeoff of the Asia-Pacific region.
In the face of common challenges, "China's Actions" continue to empower the development of the Asia-Pacific.
By upholding harmony between man and nature, China is accelerating and leading the transition to green and low-carbon development.
By boosting innovation and market application of scientific and technological advances, China pushes forward the full integration of digital and physical economies to unleash vitality in the Asia-Pacific.
By promoting high-standard opening-up, China stimulates trade vitality to create more new opportunities for Asia-Pacific partners.
Shouldn't all countries be doing this?
"In the future, APEC should continue to focus on development, promote the spirit of partnership featuring harmony without uniformity, and solidarity and mutual assistance, adhere to the APEC approach of voluntarism, consensus-building, flexibility, pragmatism and incremental progress, respect each member's right to development and their chosen development path, strive to enhance the capacity of developing members for independent development, and continuously transform the diversity of APEC members into a driving force for cooperation."