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Interview: FTAAP ready for review by APEC leaders -- Chinese vice commerce minister

Xinhua, November 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

APEC ministers have finished a collective strategic study on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and will submit a report to the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting over the weekend, a top Chinese commerce official said here Friday.

"The study provides an analysis of potential economic and social benefits and costs, analyzes the various pathways towards a Free Trade Area and identifies challenges economies may face in realizing this goal," said Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen in an interview with Xinhua following the conclusion of the 2016 APEC Ministerial Meeting.

With its 21 members accounting for around 39 percent of the world's population, 57 percent of the world's total gross domestic product (GDP), and 49 percent of world trade, APEC is a regional economic forum aiming to create greater prosperity for the region by promoting its growth and economic integration.

During the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing, member economies agreed to take concrete steps toward greater regional economic integration by endorsing a roadmap for the FTAAP. A collective strategic study along with recommendations were required to be reported to the leaders by the end of 2016.

"As the first substantial step to take the FTAAP from prospect to practice, the study is a robust response to the commitment made by member leaders in Beijing to advance the process in a comprehensive and systematic manner towards the eventual realization of the FTAAP," Wang said, adding that it's a good start for regional economic integration.

The policy recommendations made by the study report include specifying the objectives and principles, making a comprehensive working plan, and establishing a working mechanism to advocate the process toward the FTAAP, Wang said.

"The FTAAP should be a main platform for the economic integration of the Asia-Pacific with a comprehensive and high-quality free trade arrangement, while APEC should play a more active role to advocate the FTAAP under the principle of mutual benefit and wide inclusion," he said.

"The report recommends making a specific working plan on removing barriers for the flow of commodities, service and investment, carrying out non-tariff measures and protecting the principle of origin," he said.

"Member economies need to seek consensus on the most challenging areas, and to specify what kind of arrangements should be included in the FTAAP," he added.

The report also recommends that the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment be designated as the working-level coordinator to carry out those policies toward the FTAAP, said Wang.

"The committee will be asked to make a comprehensive working plan on how to carry out the policy consensus reached in previous meetings, and to submit reports on the progress in implementing the policies to the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in 2018 and 2020," he said. Endi