2016 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week kicks off in Peru

2016 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week kicks off on Monday in Lima, capital city of Peru, with the theme "Quality growth and human development."

Running from Nov 14 to 20, it will bring together leaders, senior officials and business elites from the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies to discuss the future of international trade policies, economic growth and improvement of life conditions.

During the meetings, advancing regional economic integration, enhancing the regional food market, supporting small and medium business development and boosting labor forces will be priorities, according to the official press release.

Four main events will be held through the week, including the APEC Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting on 14th and 15th, the APEC Ministerial Meeting on 17th and 18th, the APEC CEO Summit from 17th to 19th, and finally the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on 20th.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting to boost regional economic integration and deliver a speech to the APEC CEO Summit, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.

China has been an APEC contributor and supporter since it joined the mechanism 25 years ago and has played a significant role in building the Asian Pacific family.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama are among other leaders to attend the meeting.

APEC, founded in 1989, is a forum of 21 economies in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China’s Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

The APEC region, home to around 2.8 billion people, represents 57 percent of the world’s GDP and 49 percent of global trade.

APEC seeks to promote the liberalization of trade and investment, facilitate business and promote economic cooperation, achieve prosperity among member economies.