China signals support for APEC free-trade

China signals support for APEC free-trade

MADRID (AFP): Chinese Finance Minister Liu Zhongli has signaled his country's support for a plan by members of the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to establish a free- trade area by 2020.

APEC, a fledgling group comprising 17 economies on both sides of the Pacific, is to consider the ambitious free-trade proposal at a summit meeting of leaders near the Indonesian capital Jakarta in November.

Liu, in Madrid for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, told a conference Thursday that China was trying to strike a "proper balance" between reform, development and stability.

"We envisage that by the end of the 1990s, a socialist market economy will by and large have been established, which will further develop into a mature and stable system in another 20 years or so," he said.

An APEC eminent persons group has called for the most developed members of the forum to start liberalizing trade as soon as possible.

Lesser developed economies would gradually follow suit with the aim of achieving full trade liberalization by all APEC members by 2020.

The United States, backed by countries such as Australia and Singapore, has strongly endorsed the proposal.

But others such as Malaysia, which opposes moves to institutionalize APEC, are cautious towards making such commitments. Japan is adopting its customary wait-and-see attitude.

APEC held its first meeting of foreign ministers and trade ministers from 12 countries in 1989 and has since expanded to include 17 members, holding its first summit meeting between leaders in Seattle last year.

The group currently comprises Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and the United States. Chile is set to become the 18th member at this year's meeting in Indonesia.