Region needs FTA for smoother trade

President Xi Jinping will attend the 25th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting at Da Nang, Vietnam on Nov 10 and 11, and pay state visits to Vietnam and Laos from Nov 12 to 14. High hopes have been placed on his first participation in a major multilateral meeting after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last month where, Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, emphasized Beijing's determination to build a community of shared future for all humanity.

Since 1993 Chinese leaders have attended every Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, and sought to accelerate economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region with "Chinese proposals", including the Shanghai Accord adopted in 2001 and the Beijing Declaration issued at the 2014 APEC informal leaders' meeting.

A year after he proposed the Asia-Pacific community of shared destiny at Bali, Indonesia, in 2013, Xi talked about the "Asia-Pacific dream" at the APEC meeting in Beijing, shaped the "Beijing Agenda" for a Asia-Pacific free trade area with other leaders to pursue integration, innovation and interconnectivity.