Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Saturday that China is ready to work with other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to promote its further development.

Addressing the 16th APEC economic leaders' meeting, President Hu said since its launch almost 20 years ago, APEC has done a great deal in promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and economic and technical cooperation, thus making positive contribution to regional economic integration and the building of an Asia-Pacific family.

The host of major reform measures adopted within the APEC framework in recent years have improved APEC's organizing and coordinating capabilities and significantly enhanced the dynamism and efficiency of APEC cooperation, Hu said.

To promote the further development of APEC, "we should maintain the nature of APEC as a forum for economic cooperation and its approach of conducting cooperation on a non-binding basis, as this best suits the diversity prevailing in the Asia-Pacific," the Chinese president said.

He said that the APEC members should continue to promote balanced progress in economic and technical cooperation and trade and investment liberalization.

"In particular, we should increase input in economic and technical cooperation to enhance capacity-building in developing members and narrow the development gap."

President Hu also said that China would like to host the APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting in 2010 to create a platform for experience sharing and cooperation among all members.

Hu is in Lima for a state visit to Peru and for the Economic Leaders' Informal Meeting of the APEC forum on Nov. 22-23.

Founded as an informal forum among 12 members in 1989 in Canberra, Australia, APEC has expanded to 21 members -- Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2008)