APEC pillar of openness, cooperation in Asia-Pacific

Editor's note: The 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in November. The 21st Century Business Herald spoke to Zhai Kun, a professor at the School of International Studies at Peking University, about APEC's significance in the regional and global economy and China's role in promoting cooperation among APEC economies. Below are excerpts of the interview. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

At a time when many regional cooperation mechanisms are weakening and exclusive blocs are on the rise, APEC's institutional strengths are its principles of openness, inclusiveness, nonbinding commitments, voluntary participation and consensus building. The "APEC approach" respects diversity and emphasizes flexibility and gradual progress, making it uniquely vital across the Asia-Pacific region where member economies vary significantly.

APEC is the only economic cooperation platform that covers the entire Asia-Pacific, bringing together 21 economies that account for roughly 60 percent of global GDP and nearly half of world trade. Its nonbinding nature, characterized by voluntariness, lowers participation barriers, enabling cooperation among countries with diverse economic systems and development stages. APEC upholds open regionalism and opposes closed, exclusive groups, contrasting sharply with the "small yard, high fence" approach pursued by some economies.

In today's complex international landscape, APEC is still an important platform for safeguarding openness and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. While some mechanisms have weakened due to geopolitical confrontation, APEC has become an indispensable "pressure relief valve" and "buffer" among major countries.

As the host of this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, China has proposed the theme "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together", with three priorities — openness, innovation and cooperation. These elements form a framework that provides systematic solutions to challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region.

Openness is the cornerstone. The biggest risk facing the Asia-Pacific economies today is the erosion of the open order. Prioritizing openness reaffirms China's fundamental commitment to free trade. Innovation acts as the engine. APEC cooperation has expanded beyond conventional trade and investment into new areas such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence governance, green and low carbon development, and supply chain resilience, illustrating that regional cooperation in the 21st century should be innovation-driven. Cooperation is the pathway. No single economy can tackle the challenges confronting the region on its own.

These three priorities make it clear that China advocates countering closure with openness, facilitating growth through innovation and replacing confrontation with cooperation.

Since it joined APEC in 1991, China's role within APEC has evolved from being a participant and beneficiary to a provider of public goods, helping shape the APEC agenda.

China collaborates with many developing economies to prioritize development issues within APEC cooperation, ensuring that the benefits of cooperation are shared more equitably by all parties. During this process, APEC cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative could generate important and strategic synergies. Efforts could focus on the following aspects.

First, deepening the integration of "hard connectivity" and "soft connectivity" will allow the progress made by the BRI in infrastructure development to better align with APEC's efforts to facilitate trade and promote digital economy cooperation.

Second, linking the Digital Silk Road with APEC's digital economy cooperation is important. China's experience in fields such as cross-border e-commerce and mobile payments is worth sharing with more Asia-Pacific economies through the APEC framework.

Third, fostering collaboration between the Green Silk Road and APEC's green and low carbon development agenda will drive the advancement of clean energy, carbon markets and sustainable supply chains.