Vice-premier urges faster Asia-Pacific economic integration

BEIJING - Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang on Friday called on all sides to speed up the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) construction to further facilitate trade and investment in the region.

Wang made the remarks while attending a banquet for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council.

He said that the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, which will open in a key time of global economic recovery, is set to shore up the world's confidence with the messages of cooperation and joint development.

Wang called on all parties to speed up the construction of the FTAAP to drastically increase the level of trade and investment liberalization in this region, so as to meet the expectation of the business circle.

He also called for advancing the regional value chain cooperation to make it efficient and smooth, in a bid to remove the obstacles in the regional supply chain.

Stressing the important role of the Asia-Pacific region in China's development, Wang said that it is his country's priority and focus in the process of further opening up to comprehensively deepen cooperation with the Asia-Pacific economies to realize mutual benefit.

"China stands ready to play a good host to the APEC meeting to seek the maximum consensus and the positive, pragmatic and all-round outcome," he said.

The vice-premier, calling the business circle an important force in promoting Asia-Pacific economic cooperation, also urged the representatives of the APEC Business Advisory Council to offer suggestions and share wisdom in an active manner during the meeting.

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