APEC ministers pledge to support growth, create jobs

Countries attending the Asia-Pacific summit in Beijing pledged to pursue “flexible” fiscal policies to support the global economy and job creation, their finance ministers said in a joint statement yesterday.

Noting that current tepid global economic growth was not creating enough jobs around the world, the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) bloc said it will advance structural reforms to unleash new sources of growth.

“As the global economy still faces persistent weakness in demand, growth is uneven and remains below the pace necessary to generate needed jobs and downside risks have risen,” the statement said.

“We will continue to implement our fiscal policies flexibly, taking into account near-term economic conditions, so as to support economic growth and job creation, while ensuring fiscal sustainability,” it said.

APEC’s member countries — which include China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Canada — account for 40 percent of the world’s population, 54 percent of its economic output and 44 percent of its trade.

US Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin said in a separate statement that economic recovery in the US had continued to strengthen and it was important for economies with the “space to do so” to take policy steps to boost demand.

“While there is still work to do, the United States’ response to the economic crisis has laid the foundation for growth,” she said.

Yesterday’s finance ministers’ meeting also reiterated a pledge to move toward market-determined exchange rates that are flexible, reflect underlying fundamentals and avoid persistent misalignment.

The meeting came a day after figures showed China’s economy, the world’s second largest, grew at its slowest rate in the third quarter since the 2008-09 global financial crisis, adding to worries that it was weighing on global growth.

As the engine of the global economy, the APEC bloc should lead recovery toward strong, sustainable and balanced growth, the meeting said.

Nations will continue to develop value-added service sectors to promote quality jobs for young people, support small and medium-sized firms, and increase investment in research and development, the meeting agreed.