The 13th Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade was held in Cairns, Australia from July 5th to 6th, 2007, to which, the trade ministers and the representatives of the twenty-one member states were present.  The Chinese delegation was led by Yi Xiaozhun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce.  At the meeting, the Doha development round, the integration of the Asia-Pacific regional economy, the liberalization and convenience of trade investment, the protection for intellectual property and other issues were deliberated. "The Statement of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade" and "The Statement of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Concerning the Doha Development Agenda" were published.

 

It was pointed out by the meeting that the current Doha round is in a critical moment, therefore, all the member states of the WTO should have a sense of urgency.  It is imperative that political aspiration should be converted to flexibility in negotiations, that all-round participation should be advocated in the multilateral negotiations in Geneva and that Doha round should be energetically completed within this year, so that all the member states, especially the members from the developing countries will get the benefit from the negotiations.  It was stressed by the meeting that the Asia-Pacific Region is the fastest growing and the most vital region in the world, where the extent of liberalization and convenience of trade investment is constantly deepening.  APEC should probe in-depth the effective approach for realizing the integration of the Asia-Pacific regional economy and further push forward the economic development of the member states in the region.  It was reaffirmed by the meeting that the building of an all-round and balanced intellectual property protection system is conducive to creating a development environment of encouraging innovation and attracting investment.  Capability building is of primary importance to the upgrading of the level for the protection of intellectual property of all the member states.  For this reason, "The Demonstration Guidelines of APEC for the Building of Intellectual Property Protective Capability" advocated by China was adopted by the meeting.  "The Second Stage Plan of Action for APEC Trade Convenience" was also adopted by the meeting, in which, the working objectives and areas of cooperation for reducing 5 percent of the trading cost again in the Asia-Pacific Region prior to 2010 is defined.

 

In his statement, Yi Xiaozhun pointed out that China has attached high importance to the Doha round and is devoted to the establishment of an open, fair, rational and non-discriminatory multilateral trade system.  Despite the difficulties encountered in the negotiations, obstacles can be surmounted so long as there is steady faith.  Doha round is development round.  This is the first time that a development issue is placed in the central position of a multilateral trade system in a period of sixty years.  It is imperative that the member states of the developing countries should truly get the benefit from the Doha negotiations.  He said that the "Bogor objective" established
by the APEC leaders in 1994 embodied the aspiration of the APEC member states for realizing liberalization and convenience in trade investment.  While APEC is exploring various approaches to push forward the integration of Asia-Pacific regional economy, it is imperative that the realizing of the "Bogor objective" should be put in the foremost important position.  He also said that China attaches great importance to the intellectual property protection work and is willing to conduct dialogue and interflow with the member states of the APEC.  It is imperative that the intellectual property protection and cooperation developed by the APEC should give due respect to the relevant stipulations of the International Law, take into consideration the different development level among the member states and pay attention to the capacity building of the members of the developing countries.

 

The Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade is an important meeting of the APEC, which is held in the middle of the year and is on an annual basis.  Its objectives are: to conduct discussions and exchange of ideas on the major and important issues of the world and the region and to make preparation for the APEC Leaders' Meeting which is to be held in the second half of the year.  This year's APEC Leaders' Meeting will be held from September 8th to 9th, 2007 in Sydney, Australia.

2007-07-12

2007-07-12