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November 5, 2014

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China pushing for Asia free trade

Source: Shanghai Daily | November 5, 2014, Wednesday | Print Edition

CHINA is hoping that APEC will play a coordinating role in establishing a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), a Chinese official said yesterday.

It is seeking implementation of an APEC information exchange for free trade areas to increase transparency and facilitate interaction among Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement members and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Wang Shouwen, assistant commerce minister, told a press conference.

China also hopes concerned parties will strengthen research on the FTAAP and build its negotiating capacity to lay the foundations for the eventual integration of the Asia-Pacific region, Wang said.

He reiterated China’s stance of opposing trade protectionism in all its forms.

China will work to encourage all parties to agree on an extension — from 2016 to 2018 — of a commitment reached by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders that any side should not raise new trade and investment barriers, Wang added.

A statement issued after an APEC meeting in Qingdao in May said the FTAAP roadmap is expected to be finalized within the year, eight years after the idea of a free trade area of APEC economies was first proposed.

Established in 1989, APEC has played a significant role in driving global and regional economic growth. Its 21 members contributed approximately 57 percent of the world’s GDP and 46 percent of world trade last year.

China is APEC host this year and meetings on the theme “Shaping the Future through Asia-Pacific Partnership” are taking place over the next seven days in Beijing.

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