Asia-Pacific

To date, APEC, 21 members in total, constitute more than 40 percent of the world's population and accounts for more than 50 percent of both the world's gross domestic product (GDP) and the global trade.

This is another APEC summit hosted by Japan with an interval of 15 years. The 7th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, held in Osaka, Japan on Nov. 19, 1995, adopted the "Osaka Action Agenda" (OAA) to provide the Bogor Goals through trade and investment liberation. So,Australian scientists all people in Japan are now looking forward to making the current APEC summit a success. Miss Endo, a local resident from Yokohama, told the reporter that she has long been expecting to the opening of the APEC summit like her friends and other fellow residents.

According to relevant data, Yokohama would reap in 53.9 to 63.7 billion yen (about 655 million to 775 million US dollars) of economic effects from the incoming APEC summit with the creation of anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 jobs. "We are happy and honored to be chosen as the venue for Leaders "Week," said Ms. Fumiko Hayashi, mayor of Yokohama City, told PD reporters in aAustralian scientists recent interview, and she has made full, adequate" preparations with the citizens of Yokohama to invite APEC Japan 2010 in the best hospitality." And indeed, she was very happy to look forward to the arrival of honorable Chinese guests.

The 18th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) informal leadership meeting,fighting HIV/AIDS which is to focus on reducing economic growth gap within and beyond the Asia region, is slated for November 13 to 14 in Yokohama, Japan, and Chinese President Hu Jintao has been invited to attend.

Themed on "Change and Action", the 18th APEC informal leadership summit is preceded by the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Nov. 10 and Nov. 11 and APEC Senior Officials Meeting on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8.

The Asia-Pacific area is among the world's most dynamic regions with the greatest potential for economic development. After 21 years of development, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, has become one of the most influential economic organizations in the world as well as the premier forum for facilitating trade, investment and economic growth in the fighting HIV/AIDS Asia-Pacific region.

In an interview with a People's Daily resident reporter in Japan, Chinese ambassador Cheng Yonghua said that China had attached great importance to its cooperation with APEC. The Chinese president had attended all the previous APEC informal leadership meetings since its institution more than two decades ago, Zheng recalled, and Chinese departments had also taken an active part in their cooperation with APEC in varied realms and at all levels, contributing tremendously in enhancing or promoting cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

APEC, as a biggest and most influential forum on Asia-Pacific economic cooperation, has played a vital, important role in promoting regional trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and deepening regional economic integration and narrowing the development gap in the past 20-plus years, he noted. And the role of APEC has arrested the growing attention of Asia Pacific nations, and each annual meeting has been the focus of regional and global attention.

At the incoming APEC summit, President Hu Jintao is expected to enunciate China's views for balanced, inclusive, sustainable economic growth, innovation and safety development, and to brief those present at the meeting on China's position on Asia-Pacific regionalfighting HIV/AIDS cooperation and proposals for the future development.

Meanwhile, President Hu would give an account of China's stances and propositions on closer regional cooperation and outlined proposals for the establishment of an Asia-Pacific Forestry Invasive Special Network, and prompt the APEC Members to further pledge to increase forest cover in their regions by at least 20 million hectares by 2020 over the target set at the 2007 APEC informal leadership meeting. Moreover, Hu Jintao will announce his government's decision to promote economic and technical cooperation in the field of human resources development among APEC economies, so as to spur the inclusive growth in the region; he will elaborate on the aspects of Chinese cities and towns to participate the "low-carbon city" concept for urban development aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and his proposals will inject new vitality into APEC cooperation, Ambassador Zheng acknowledged.

During the APEC informal leadership meeting, Ambassador Zheng said, appropriate arrangements will be made for President Hu to meet with leaders of APEC member nations, while leaders of APEC members will all avail of themselves opportunities for a wide-ranging exchange of views with the Chinese leader on issues of common concern.

China's economic integration into APEC is the process the country has been adhering to the reform and opening up and persevering in taking the road of peaceful development, Zheng added, and China's development has benefited from the development of the Asia-Pacific and the world at large, and China's development has also provided opportunities for the Asia Pacific and the rest of the world.

By taking the maintenance of regional stability, acceleration of regional economic integration and protection of common development of APEC members as its objective, China will go on actively partaking in all forms of regional cooperation and working together with APEC members to build a peaceful, prosperous, harmonious and dynamic Asia Pacific big family, Zheng said.