The 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), including countries from Asia and America, will hold their annual summit online this Friday (21.11.2020) in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), with China potentially leading the way, given the uncertainty over whether Donald Trump, the outgoing president of the United States, will participate.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will participate in a preliminary APEC meeting via teleconference on Thursday, where he will defend multilateralism, which contrasts with the "America First" policy promoted by Trump during his term in office.
Last year, the APEC summit in Chile was cancelled due to anti-government protests, while Trump did not attend the forum's 2018 meeting in Papua New Guinea, held at the height of a trade war between Beijing and Washington.
China has gained influence with the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) last Sunday., the world's largest free trade agreement, which also includes Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Policies for economic recovery from the effects of Covid-19, the digital economy, the fight against corruption and economic integration are some of the topics that the leaders will address at the forum.
On Monday, APEC held a preparatory meeting where ministers pledged to facilitate essential travel and step up information sharing amid Covid-19 restrictions.
"It is imperative to translate the benefits of trade and investment into more inclusive growth that brings tangible benefits and greater well-being for all," Malaysian Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Azmin Ali said in a statement.
The minister also stressed the importance of APEC economies “continuing to resist the forces of protectionism and strengthening support for a multilateral, rules-based trading system…” while advancing the development agenda set by the World Trade Organization.
In a joint statement, the ministers pledged to continue negotiations on integration and economic modernisation, as well as to address issues such as climate change, corruption and inequality.
Founded in 1989, the APEC forum represents 60% of global GDP and more than half of global trade, forms a market of some 2.850 billion consumers – 40% of the world's population – and aims to establish a free trade zone among its 21 member economies.
The economies that make up APEC are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
Source: EFE
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