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APEC committed to fighting terrorism, promoting trade  |
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 The 21 APEC member economies adopted a declaration committing themselves to promoting trade within the region and fighting terrorism. One year after the Shanghai summit, the Los Cabos meeting has once again focused on the fight against terrorism in a forum that was intended to promote trade.
The Los Cabos summit was originally intended to deal with growth policies in the Asia－Pacific region against a background of slow economic recovery. But, just like the Shanghai summit last year, much of the discussion focused on global security issues following the recent terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia and Russia.
The leaders' declaration issued on Sunday reflected members' concerns.
Vicente Fox, the Mexican president, said, "We condemned in the strongest terms recent terrorist acts in the APEC region, and reaffirmed our determination to enhance cooperation on countering and responding to terrorism."
But trade was never downgraded from the economic forum's center stage.
The leaders' statements clearly defined APEC's two goals: enhancing security against terrorism and ensuring the growth of trade.
Zhang Yunling, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "APEC is still an economic forum, but there is a closer relationship between economic growth and security. APEC does not change its nature. It's just highly integrated."
To facilitate trade, Chinese President Jiang Zemin urged member economies to push forward the new round of WTO trade talks, or the Doha round. He also called for pragmatic fiscal and monetary policies to restore investor confidence.
The Secure Trade in the APEC Region Initiative proposed by the US received sweeping support. Members agreed to work together to secure the flow of goods and people.
The Los Cabos statements also called for stifling the financing of terrorist groups. But members also stressed the need to balance these two goals.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Philippine president, said, "If we neglect the economic imperative at this time when we are so concerned with terrorism, we would be feeding terrorism by promoting hunger, disease and ignorance."
Despite the fact that anti－terrorism has once again become an important part of APEC's agenda, economic growth remains a top priority. After all, poverty and ignorance are considered part of the root causes of terrorism.
But with terrorist attacks increasingly a threat to people's everyday life, more and more members have come to realize that, without security, growth could be a luxury topic.
Editor: Zhao Xuan
Source: CCTV
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