APEC 2017 committed to supporting regional prosperity

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting of 2017 wrapped up on Saturday, pledging to create new dynamism and foster a shared future for the Asia Pacific region.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (6th L, front) poses for a family photo before a gala dinner hosted by Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and his wife for leaders, delegates and spouses attending the 25th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting, in Da Nang, Vietnam, Nov. 10, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

At a press conference after the meeting, Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang said that the economic leaders had reached agreements on a range of key issues, including promoting innovative and inclusive growth, creating new drivers for regional economic integration and enhancing food security, so as to foster a shared future.

The regional and global landscapes have experienced complex and fundamental shifts, coupled with the emergence of far-reaching challenges and opportunities, said the Da Nang Declaration from the meeting.

"We, therefore, recommit to our common purpose -- to foster a shared future of a peaceful, stable, dynamic, inter-connected and prosperous Asia-Pacific community," the declaration said.

"We reaffirm our support for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as a framework for inclusive growth. We reaffirm our long-standing commitment to APEC's mission of supporting sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region." 

APEC economic leaders also pledged to work together to promote structural reform and innovation, to improve human resources development in the digital age, to advance toward the eventual realization of Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, and to foster regional and sub-regional comprehensive and inclusive connectivity.

The APEC Vision Group was established to assist senior officials in shaping the post-2020 Vision, according to the declaration.

The APEC Economic Leaders' Week for 2018 will be held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

Established in 1989, the 21-member APEC is Pacific Rim's premier economic forum aimed at supporting sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.

APEC member economies account for 3 billion people and 60 percent of the world's GDP and 50 percent of global trade.