24th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting

24th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting

The 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation （APEC） Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Lima， Peru， on Nov. 19-20 adopted a declaration on advancing quality growth and human development. The declaration describes policy commitments for APEC members to take forward in pursuit of this objective.

Focus is on addressing challenges and opportunities for free trade and investment in the current global context. The statement said， \"we reaffirm our commitment to keep our markets open and to fight against all forms of protectionism.\" The leaders also pledged to \"refrain from competitive devaluation\" of their currencies.

China renewed its call for pushing forward the building of a Free Trade Area of the AsiaPacific （FTAAP）.

\"The FTAAP is a strategic initiative critical for the longterm prosperity of the AsiaPacific，\" said Chinese President Xi Jinping in a keynote speech at the APEC CEO Summit before the leaders’ meeting. He called on the 21 APEC member economies to promote an open and integrated economy， enhance connectivity to achieve interconnected development， boost reform and innovation to create more internal driving force and promote win-win cooperation to forge strong partnership.

Acknowledging that economic globalization is a\"double-edged sword\" faced with skepticism these days， the leader of the world’s second largest economy said he nonetheless believes that economic globalization is in keeping with the laws of economics and delivers benefits to all.

\"We need to actively guide globalization， promote equity and justice， and make globalization more resilient， inclusive and sustainable， so that people will get a fair share of its benefits and will see that they have a stake in it，\" Xi said.

Strategic Partnership Boosts Cooperation with Malaysia

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Beijing on Nov. 3， pledging to boost cooperation with the country in diverse areas and cement their all-round strategic partnership. Xi hailed the progress of relations since diplomatic ties were established 42 years ago， citing mutual respect， trust， win-win cooperation and close communication. He urged both countries to maintain frequent high-level exchanges， deepen political trust， keep to the right direction of bilateral relations and continue to support each other on issues related to each other’s major concerns. He called on the two sides to combine their development strategies and to lay a solid foundation for stronger trade cooperation. He also urged stronger bilateral cooperation in education， culture， health and media， as well as in fighting terrorism and cross-border crime.

Najib congratulated the successful convening of the sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee， and praised China’s economic and social development. Calling the two countries friendly neighbors and trustworthy friends， Najib said Malaysia-China ties are currently at their highest level ever. Malaysia is glad to see China’s Belt and Road Initiative get a warm response， and is ready to facilitate cooperation in trade， transportation and port construction with China under the Belt and Road framework. Malaysia is committed to boosting ASEAN-China relations， he added.

Najib paid an official visit to China from Oct. 31 to Nov. 5. After his official talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Nov. 1， China and Malaysia signed agreements on railways， energy， defense and joint development of Malaysia’s naval ships. China’s top legislator Zhang Dejiang also met with Najib on Nov. 1.

China， Laos Cooperate in Counterterrorism and Drug Control

Chinese State Councilor Guo Shengkun， who also serves as Chinese Minister of Public Security， met with Laos Public Security Minister Somkeo Silavong in Beijing on Nov. 17， calling for more cooperation in counterterrorism and drug control.

\"Both sides should deepen law enforcement cooperation on a bilateral level and along the Mekong River， preventing and fighting terrorism and drugrelated transnational crime，\" Guo said.

Guo called on both sides to protect each other’s personnel， institutions and major projects and link the Belt and Road Initiative with Laos’ development strategy. Somkeo said Laos is willing to expand law enforcement and security cooperation with China.

China Mulls Economic Cooperation Zone in the Philippines

China will explore the possibility of establishing an economic and trade cooperation zone in the Philippines as part of the two countries’ efforts to advance bilateral ties， Ministry of Commerce （MOC） spokesperson Sun Jiwen told a press conference on Nov. 17. According to the official， China is willing to increase imports from the Philippines and encourage Chinese firms to expand investment there. The two countries will also sign a pact on economic and technological cooperation for the 2017-2022 period， and China will consider providing financial support for infrastructure projects in the Philippines， Sun said. The moves were discussed during a visit by an MOC delegation to the Philippines in mid-November， following the consensus reached by the two countries’ leaders on economic cooperation during Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s state visit to China in October， according to Sun. Bilateral trade between China and the Philippines rose 4.2 percent year-on-year to US$38.6 billion in the first 10 months of 2016， customs data show.

Joint Patrol in Beibu Gulf

The coast guards from China and Vietnam concluded a three-day joint patrol mission in a common fishing zone in the Beibu Gulf on Nov. 9.

According to a China Coast Guard （CCG） statement， the coast guards of both sides completed a series of scheduled tasks， including a joint patrol， a maritime search and rescue exercise and examination of fishing boats， amid strong winds and high waves. The two sides also discussed law enforcement experiences and visited each other’s ships.

This was the two countries’ second joint patrol in 2016； the first being in April. Four coast guard ships were involved in the latest mission. Since 2006， the two countries have conducted 12 joint law enforcement exercises in the common fishing zone.

The latest mission will help the two sides’ maritime search and rescue abilities and strengthen personnel communication and law enforcement cooperation， according to Liu Tianrong， the Chinese commander of the mission.

Overseas Staff in SHFTZ Allowed to Use Local Banking Services

China’s central bank will allow qualified international employees working in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone （SHFTZ） to open overseas personal free trade accounts， as part of a series of reforms encouraging innovation and cross-border investment.

The measure， announced at a news conference in Shanghai on Nov. 23 by the People’s Bank of China， is the first of its kind allowing international staff working in the city to have easy and direct financing services through bank accounts at local lenders. Qualified foreigners can access cross-border financial services and do not have to use overseas services as they did before.

The central bank said the move was aimed at encouraging innovation and cross-border investment and trade in a bid to make trade more active， and extend the functions of free trade accounts from corporate financing to personal financing.

Steve Ma， an expert in the food and beverage sector and a senior executive with a multinational in Shanghai， said that he applauds the new policy because it will enable him to better utilize the financial services of local banks， including making financial plans for his family， such as wealth management， insurance and investment in financial products.

The regulator also announced a series of other measures to deepen opening up and reform， including allowing private equity funds and projects in the free trade zone to raise capital in the zone as well as overseas and use the proceeds for cross-border investment.

Multinational corporations are allowed to establish onshore cross-border renminbi capital pools by using SHFTZ accounts to manage their renminbi holdings globally， according to the central bank.

China’s Outbound Direct Investment Increases

China’s outbound direct investment （ODI） increased in the first 10 months of the year， with strong growth in the United States， official data showed on Nov. 17. Non-financial ODI increased 53.3 percent year-on-year to reach US$145.96 billion in the January-October period， while ODI in October grew 48.4 percent year-on-year， according to the Ministry of Commerce.

In the first 10 months of 2016， outbound investment from the Chinese mainland mostly went to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region， ASEAN， the European Union， Australia， the United States， Russia and Japan. The United States registered the strongest year-on-year increase， at 173.9 percent. Most of the investment went to commercial services， manufacturing and retail， with equipment manufacturing almost quadrupling compared to last year.

Chinese companies continued to invest heavily in countries along the Belt and Road， signing construction contracts worth over US$84 billion during the period， up 30.7 percent year-on-year.

（Sources： Xinhua News Agency， CCTV.com， China News Service）