Cross-border e-commerce among ministers' targets

Ministers of commerce and foreign affairs of the APEC member economies have achieved remarkable results in regional economic integration during meetings held on Wednesday and Thursday in Da Nang, Vietnam, a senior Chinese official said on Friday.

The ministers and other top officials are expected to take further steps to improve cross-border trade policies during the ongoing annual meetings of APEC, according to Zhang Shaogang, director-general of the Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce.

A framework was approved at the ministers' meeting to facilitate cross-border e-commerce in the APEC region, according to a statement released after the meeting. It will encourage paperless commerce and increase the engagement of small and medium-sized enterprises, Zhang said.

The ministers also approved a series of policies to support industrial production, focusing on encouraging industrial cluster development, advanced supply chains and industrial zone construction, as well as improving logistics service, Zhang said. That will strengthen industrial connections in the region over the long term, he said.

"This achievement has followed the direction of facilitating free and convenient cross-border trade and investment, which has been always supported by the APEC initiative, and exploring new areas of cooperation in the future," Zhang said.

Based on an initiative that China raised at the 2014 APEC meetings in Beijing, known as the "Beijing Road Map", this year's meeting will continue to accumulate contributions toward an Asia-Pacific free trade zone. The ministers also agreed to start cooperative work on designing a specific index to reflect regional trade, as well as building a policy environment for the service trade, Zhang said.

Regional economic integration, inclusive growth, innovation of small-and medium-sized enterprises and food safety all continue to be key issues for the bloc.

Zhang said that "most of the member economies expect to continually support the multilateral trade regime" through which trade partners work on the basis of multilateral agreements instead of strictly engaging in bilateral trade. "We have already started a lot of coordination work."

The APEC delegations also expect a successful minister-level meeting at the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Argentina, in December, he said.

Chinese business representatives think APEC will be one of the best frameworks to support building a free-trade zone across the Asia-Pacific region, Sun Xiao, a leader of the Chinese delegation and director of the department of cooperation and development at the China Chamber of International Commerce, said on Thursday.

"To achieve this target, there will be many different approaches, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and China is willing to contribute positive experience for the free trade zone construction," said Sun.

chenjia@chinadaily.com.cn