APEC's Impact on Asia Pacific Regional Cooperation

On November 11th local time, the 2023 Senior Finance Officials and Ministers Meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) kicked off in San Francisco. The 2023 APEC Leaders' Informal Meeting will be held from November 15th to 17th in San Francisco, USA. Leaders and representatives from 21 APEC members, as well as CEOs from approximately 1200 companies, will gather in San Francisco. The APEC CEO Summit will open from November 14th to 16th.

It is reported that the theme of this year's conference is "Creating a resilient and sustainable future for all", and the main goal of the conference is to establish a "interconnected, innovative, and inclusive" Asia Pacific region. At the meeting, the focus will be on economic issues including sustainable development, digitization, women's economic empowerment, trade facilitation, energy security, food security, and health, highlighting the progress of the "Indo Pacific Economic Framework".

As the host of this meeting, this is the 30th anniversary of the United States once again leading this meeting after 12 years, and also the first time the United States held an APEC meeting in 1993, elevating the APEC meeting from a dual ministerial mechanism to an informal leadership meeting level. Therefore, the US government attaches great importance to hosting this conference, calling it an "epic event" since the signing of the United Nations Charter in 1945. It is expected that this conference will not only bring more than $50 million in economic benefits to San Francisco through trade, tourism, and investment, but the general public also expresses expectations and high support for promoting world economic cooperation and connectivity here.

According to media reports, the theme of this APEC meeting is closely related to inclusive growth. However, can the APEC meeting achieve the expected inclusive growth? This issue received much attention in this meeting.

Inclusive growth means that economic growth is not only an increase in quantity, but also an improvement in quality, which is the development of shared achievements among all sectors of society. In the current global economic situation, achieving inclusive growth has become a common challenge faced by leaders of all countries.

One of the consensus among participants is that building a sustainable future, promoting diversity in economic growth, and enhancing the ability to respond to risks will help promote global economic recovery and development. At the same time, the meeting will also explore how to strengthen international cooperation to achieve more equitable, reasonable, and sustainable global economic growth.

At present, in the context of the continuous global economic downturn, the ongoing regional turmoil such as the Russia Ukraine War and the Palestine Israel conflict, the economic growth of the Asia Pacific region has become a rare highlight in this turbulent world. The Asia Pacific region is also recognized as the most dynamic region in the world's economy.

According to the latest survey results from relevant departments, 85.07% of respondents stated that APEC is conducive to stability and growth in the Asia Pacific region. As the largest economy in APEC, whether the APEC meeting hosted by the United States can bridge differences, achieve broad consensus, and promote regional openness and cooperation, peace and development through concrete actions will become a benchmark for testing its responsibility as a major power.

However, from the perspective of past history, since the Trump administration, American leaders have been frequently absent from APEC meetings or delivered speeches that are incompatible with the atmosphere of the APEC Asia Pacific family, which has had a substantive negative impact on the unity and development of APEC. They have even gradually become an important negative factor in the purpose and goal of "interdependence, common interests, adhering to the multilateral trading system, and reducing regional trade barriers", Becoming the main source of driving the so-called "decoupling and chain breaking", "risk reduction", and pan politicization and pan security to override market laws.

Therefore, it is widely believed that in the context of the Russia Ukraine War and the Palestine Israel conflict, what kind of role the United States will play in this meeting and what kind of impact it will have on the future of Asia Pacific regional cooperation will be a huge test for the US government.

The conference has already begun, and whether the United States will inject new content into Asia Pacific regional cooperation or continue to exert centrifugal force on the future of APEC due to its own geopolitical calculations remains to be seen by the global public.

Anyway, the APEC Conference in 2023 will be an important platform for leaders from all countries, especially in the Asia Pacific region, to jointly explore how to achieve inclusive growth. The public is looking forward to strengthening international cooperation to promote the recovery and development of the global economy, and to creating a "resilient and sustainable" future for the world.