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| San Francisco is considered the most suitable place to connect APEC economies. (Source: Getty Images) |
San Francisco - a city on the West Coast of the United States is becoming the center of global attention. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit Week from November 11-17 attracts thousands of leaders, private sector, international organizations and scholars from 21 member economies.
As host Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken proudly introduced, it is difficult to find a more suitable place to bring us all together at APEC. Because San Francisco - a place of cultural diversity, a place of peoples, is also the place that for generations, has connected the people and economies of the Asia-Pacific region.
Strengthening the collective power
In the context of ongoing geopolitical conflicts, complex and unpredictable major power relations, and the global economy facing many risks of recession, what signal does the fact that this important multilateral conference is held in a leading economy send to the world? That is what global economies are concerned about.
This is the third time the US has hosted APEC since 2011, marking exactly 30 years since the first APEC meeting was held in this economy. The host country's representative emphasized that the US's participation in APEC is a long-term commitment to the vision agreed upon in Malaysia in 2020 - a peaceful, dynamic, resilient and open Asia-Pacific community, a community that enhances the prosperity of its people and future generations.
The United States affirms its belief in that vision, a region where economies are free to choose their own paths and partners; where problems are resolved openly; where rules are reached transparently and applied fairly; where goods, ideas, and people flow lawfully and freely.
In fact, APEC has made a lot of progress, truly moving towards a more prosperous future. Since the APEC forum was established three decades ago, the region's GDP has increased from $19 trillion to $52.8 trillion. Per capita income has increased about fourfold, lifting millions out of poverty, creating a prosperous middle class.
APEC's 21 member economies account for 38% of the world's population; generate half of global trade and produce more than 60% of the world's goods and services.
In the US economy, APEC members have invested $1.7 trillion, supporting 2.3 million American jobs. In turn, US companies have invested about $1.4 trillion in APEC economies.
However, APEC economies are also facing many uncertainties and major challenges. In fact, although the world is still recovering from the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, there are still quite deep “wounds” in the economy, trade, tourism… and even the lives of many people. In particular, supply chains are still fragile, economic inequality and insecurity are increasing, geopolitical tensions contribute to further weakening food and energy security… The climate crisis contributes to exacerbating natural disasters and increasing temperatures, disrupting supply chains, destroying crops…
That is why the US host chose the theme of creating a resilient and sustainable future for all. Because this is the moment that requires APEC members to look back and assess the reality, to enhance dialogue and cooperation, and turn challenges into opportunities for recovery and sustainable development.
Vision towards the future
After years of focusing on post-pandemic recovery, 2023 is considered a “pivotal year” for APEC - a time when economies can refocus on building long-term sustainable economies, as stated by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the 2023 APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting (November 12-13).
APEC’s agenda-setting has been a rocky one for years, with no in-person meetings of regional leaders in 2019, 2020 or 2021 due to travel restrictions due to the pandemic or, in one case, domestic unrest in Chile.
The US hosting of this year’s forum has been welcomed by most APEC members. Choosing the theme “Creating a resilient and sustainable future for all”, the US host emphasized three priorities of “connectivity, innovation and inclusion” in building the Asia-Pacific region.
Accordingly, linking efforts to build better resilience for supply chains, investing in sustainable, high-quality infrastructure to connect economies and lay the foundation for broad-based development.
Innovation aims to leverage APEC’s role as an incubator of ideas, working to foster new solutions to address some of the toughest challenges facing the region and the world – from facilitating an equitable energy transition, to shaping the digital economy, to empowering workers and businesses.
Inclusion is about increasing inclusiveness and unleashing untapped human potential, whether it is simply creating more opportunities for women, supporting indigenous entrepreneurs to access capital, or in a much more macro sense, harnessing satellite systems to extend connectivity to rural and remote areas.
Experts assess that the special significance of APEC can be seen at both the global and regional levels. In particular, in terms of vision towards the future, in the context of the rapidly changing world situation, complex intertwined internal and external factors, and increasing fragmentation in the region, whether APEC can maintain its position as the leading channel for economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, promote parties to find common understanding of cooperation, and maintain unity of the entire region, is not only the most valuable thing, but also very worthy of attention.
Confident in the goals set for the 30th APEC Forum, in her speech at the Opening Session of the APEC Ministerial Meeting (November 14-15), US Trade Representative Katherine Tai emphasized: “We (APEC) are not building from scratch. We have a solid foundation for cooperation, which has been built over many years: Malaysia with the Putrajaya Vision 2040, New Zealand with the Aotearoa Action Plan, and Thailand with the Bangkok Goals for a Bio-Green Economy… But we also know that there is still a lot of work ahead.”
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