A view of Cai Rong Port in Van Don disrict, Quang Ninh province (Photo: news.zing.vn)Hanoi (VNA) – Experts have stressed that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)forum plays an increasingly important role in ensuring a global system of free,open and equal trade amid rising protectionism.
Talking withreporters prior to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Vietnam’s central DaNang city, Jayant Menon, an expert at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), noted APEChas pushed its member economies to pursue “open regionalism”, which is aconsistent principle of the bloc since its establishment in 1989.
APEC’s openregionalism means promoting intra-bloc trade liberalisation while maintaining anopen market that welcomes non-member economies, he added.
Amid increasinganti-globalisation trend and pressure from protectionism, APEC needs to enhanceits crucial role in maintaining a free and open global trade system, he said.
Sergio LeyLopez, President of the Business Section for Asia and Oceania under the MexicanEntrepreneurial Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE),lauded APEC’s role in fostering andbuilding a multilevel cooperation structure in the region amid growing tradeprotectionism.
He said the mostimportant axis of global integration will be the Atlantic Ocean andAsia-Pacific, thus APEC member economies are on their way to form the world’smost powerful economic community.
The officialsaid APEC’s cooperation structure and mechanisms are a “cure” for tradeprotectionism.
Prof. CarlThayer, an expert of the Australian Defence Force Academy, said the centralconcern of APEC member economies is how to realise their goal of boosting freetrade and investment in the region through the Free Trade Area of theAsia-Pacific (FTAAP).
He recommended thebloc’s members to commit to the implementation of the Lima Declaration on FTAAP by mapping out long-term plans and setting out major deadlines.
Prof. Yeah Kim Leng from the Malaysia-basedSunway University said free trade is vital to the globalisation and trade flow.
He expressed his belief that Vietnam, as the hostof the APEC Year 2017, will help arouse more attention on trade liberalisationin order to lift trade barriers and encourage cross-border investment.-VNA
VNA
