President to take part in APEC meeting

President Xi Jinping will explain China's stance on a range of key issues while participating in the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting via video link in Beijing on Friday, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

He will also deliver a keynote speech from a prerecorded video at the APEC CEO Summit on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced on Wednesday.

It will be the second time that the Chinese president has addressed leaders of the 21 APEC member economies this year. He also addressed the APEC Informal Economic Leaders' Retreat via video in July, highlighting the need for the grouping to fight COVID-19 and lead economic recovery through solidarity and cooperation.

The leaders' meeting on Friday, which will be chaired by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, will focus on a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the pandemic across the region and the implementation of the Putrajaya Vision 2040, APEC's agenda for the next two decades.

Ardern said in a statement that the meeting will focus on charting a path to recovery out of the once-in-a-century crisis. "APEC's focus remains on the regional response and recovery from COVID-19. Together we are continuing to keep supply chains functioning and are supporting trade in critical medical supplies－including testing kits, PPE and now vaccines."

According to a report released by the APEC Policy Support Unit on Monday, the economy of the APEC region is expected to grow by 6 percent in 2021 and will settle at 4.9 percent in 2022 in anticipation of the unwinding of fiscal and monetary support measures, even though growth among member economies continued to diverge and uncertainties remained substantial.