BEIJING, Nov. 9 (PNA/Itar-TASS) — Regional economic integration will dominate the agenda of the APEC CEO Summit 2014 which is opening in the Chinese capital on Sunday.
Its motto is “New Vision for Asia Pacific: Creativity, Connectivity, Integration, Prosperity.”
The APEC CEO Summit 2014 is the most important business event during the APEC Leaders Week. It will bring together about a thousand companies from 21 APEC countries and 16 other states that will represent 20 industries, including information technologies, finance and the mining industry.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will open the summit, which will also be attended by the heads of government of the United States, Vietnam, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru and other APEC countries; the heads of influential corporations such as Microsoft, Lenovo, Rio Tinto, Walmart and Nomura Holdings; representatives of international organizations and leading economists. Russia will be represented by Oleg Deripaska /RUSAL/; Igor Sechin /Rosneft/ and German Gref (Sberbank).
The 2014 APEC summit has engrossed the attention of the world business community. According to the Fortune magazine, 130 out of the world’s 500 leading companies have sent their representatives to the forum. The summit’s key topics include regional economic integration and the creation of the Asia-Pacific free trade zone; support for innovative development and economic reforms; promotion of integrated partnership and infrastructure development. A number of discussions will be devoted to global economy: its sustainable development, the future of the global financial system; struggle against growing economic inequality, public-private partnership. Russia’s place in the Asia-Pacific region will also be part of the agenda.
The fourth working session of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) will be held on the summit’s sidelines. The APEC Business Advisory Council is the main dialogue mechanism between the state and business within the APEC framework.
The Council comprises three big business representatives from each APEC member state. Members of the APEC Business Advisory Council discuss the same range of economic issues as state leaders but are more focused on economic issues. They present their views and considerations to the presidents and prime ministers. ABAC is expected to organize a dialogue between businessmen and political leaders on Nov. 10.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum was established in November 1989 as an instrument of peaceful and non-conflict solution of economic, social, environmental and other problems of the Asia-Pacific Region. APEC builds its activities on the basis of consensus.
The first separate CEO summit was held in 1996 with an aim to give an opportunity for business community representatives to talk to state leaders, government officials and leading scientists. Apart from Russia, the 21-member APEC comprises Australia, Canada, China, Malaysia, the United States and the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and other countries. (PNA/Itar-TASS)