Sound Bites

Hong Kong is the most important offshore renminbi trading center in the world, with more than 3 trillion yuan ($490 billion) of the 4.8 trillion yuan global clearing amount as of September. But we should be aware that this could change. Many, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Singapore, are fiercely competing for the top slot (in offshore renminbi clearing), and the market is being increasingly carved up. We hope HK can maintain its financial environment to retain the top slot.

Tian Guoli, chairman of Bank of China

China's vision of building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will create opportunities for both countries, because new railway and airport projects are quite necessary and important to Bangladesh's economic development. If new projects are being funded and carried out sooner or later by the assistance of the Silk Road fund and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, they will help stabilize Bangladesh's economy in the medium and long term.

Abdul Hamid, president of Bangladesh

Even though the development of roads, railways, shipping lanes and oil pipelines will help facilitate trade activities in the APEC region, members should strive to establish comprehensive connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region, not only in the field of infrastructure, but also in the area of constructive mechanisms.

With goods and service trade volume expanding more rapidly than earlier in the APEC region, future regional trade will be driven by the improvement in transportation and communications technologies that reduce the cost of international transactions.

U Thein Sein, president of Myanmar.

There are things that you can negotiate bilaterally and things that you can only do multilaterally. For example, you can reduce tariffs bilaterally or through Free Trade Agreements. But when it comes to rules and regulation, such as government subsidies, financial services and telecommunications, you can only do it multilaterally.

Another interesting observation, which surprised me, is that for most businesses, tariff is not the most important issue.

Roberto Azevedo, director-general of the World Trade Organization

Enhancement of regional connectivity across the Asia-Pacific region requires generating political will and cooperation, to explore what is achievable and optimal, to develop consensus on more conducive approaches and modalities of engagement, and to put in place a game plan for how this will be achieved.

China's progress in driving regional success is astounding and will continue to grow. Its economic dynamism and rise in recent decades is unprecedented. Its home-grown economic model and development, its sheer size and resource strengths, its openness to rebalance the economy to shift to a more sustainable growth path, and its strategic planning promoting regional integration and connectivity are indeed noteworthy.

Shamshad Akhtar, undersecretary-general of the United Nations and executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

(China Daily 11/10/2014 page40)