Openness highly crucial for Apec economies

China's Commerce Vice Minister Wang Shouwen attends an APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) Opening Session in San Francisco, California, U.S., November 14, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

BEIJING: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) economies should uphold the principles of open regionalism and avoid the formation of closed and exclusive “small blocs” within the region, says a senior Chinese government official.

Addressing the recent 2023 Apec Ministerial Meeting in San Francisco, Wang Shouwen, China’s international trade representative and vice-minister of commerce, said that Apec should actively promote the upcoming 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) of the World Trade Organization to resume the operation of the dispute-settlement mechanism, reinforce food security, achieve temporary tariff exemptions for electronic transmissions and facilitate accession of new members.