Openness, partnership: soul of APEC

SINGAPORE, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Week kicked off Sunday with the opening of the Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting.

Around 10,000 delegates, media persons and visitors, including 21 leaders and 63 ministers from the 21 APEC member economies, are arriving in the country for the gathering, a manifestation of the importance of the meetings this year against the backdrop of incipient recovery from the global economic recession.

This year also saw a record turnout of APEC leaders for the CEO Summit, with an over-subscribed 1,500 participants. Industry chieftains will join heads of government in a two-day discussion of crisis and opportunities facing the global economy.

All is because the APEC is the world's biggest non-binding mechanism, where people come to share views rather than coerce others into commitment, where commercial leaders can directly interact with and make frontline recommendations to the political leaders.

Since 1993 onwards, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has been working to create "a community of Asia Pacific economies in which the spirit of openness and partnership deepens", and to follow their own voluntariness and the principle of consensus, and adopt a flexible, gradual and "win-win" principle of cooperation, among the members.

"To shape a spirit of community of economies is one of the most important achievements since the inception of the APEC," said Wang Yusheng, executive director of the Foundation for International Studies under the Chinese Foreign Ministry, ahead of the APEC Singapore meetings.

The "spirit of community of economies" bears two principles: openness and partnership. Openness implies a commitment to the free world economy and an adherence to the open trade system while at the same time a resistance to trade protectionism. Partnership means consensus and cooperation, and a devotion of win-win scenario.

Let's not forget the two principles, especially at a time when countries have reasons to fence around with protectionism and punitive measures, and when the human race has to collaborate to tackle a series of looming menaces, including climate change, terrorism and food security.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the APEC mechanism. The world has changed a lot from the early years of the APEC, and doubts were cast on the future development of the APEC. But peace and development remain the two major themes in the years ahead, justifying a true belief in the APEC community spirit.

The APEC was originally set up to "avoid drawing a line down the middle of the Pacific," and it needs greater courage at present to stick to the principles of openness and partnership, because they are the soul of the APEC.