2001 Leaders' Meeting

APEC China 2001 was a series of economic and political meetings between the 21 member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum held in the People's Republic of China during 2001. Various meetings were held across the country, with leaders from all the member countries meeting 20–21 October 2001 in Shanghai.

Background

Many of the member states were still dealing with the fallout of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, whose effects on the price of oil led to the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Discontent with globalization had erupted into major protests in Seattle, Prague, and Genoa. Even China, the only economy to experience rapid growth in the region through the period thanks to various protections against capital flight, saw weaker-than-projected growth and made efforts to improve non-performing loans in its banking system and its dependency on trade with the United States.

The leaders' meeting for APEC China 2001 was held shortly after the September 11th Attacks on New York City and Washington, DC, in the United States, which quickly led to a "War on Terror" and an invasion of Afghanistan by American forces. The United Nations Security Council had already passed Resolutions 1368 (condemning the attacks) and 1373 (initiating international counterterrorism arrangements), but not yet authorized an international military response. PresidentGeorge W. Bush had cancelled a scheduled trip to China, Japan, and South Korea to deal with the attack and its fallout, but arranged to meet those countries' leaders while at the APEC meetings in Shanghai. Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan visited Washington to conclude preliminary arrangements with Vice-President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell in mid-September. Bush has visited in China on his first international trip since the September 11 attacks and China offered strong public support for the War on Terror.

The meetings also took place during and after the negotiations for a 20-year treaty between Russia and China. The treaty, signed on 16 July, stipulated economic and military cooperation between the two countries and also outlined a policy of general friendliness and cooperation.

Administration

APEC China 2001 was overseen by a steering committee headed by Vice-Premier Qian Qichen and including Shanghai mayor Xu Kuangdi and Party secretary Huang Ju; Organization Department head Zeng Qinghong; State Council secretary-general Wang Zhongyu; Central Office director Wang Gang; Minister of Foreign Affairs Tang Jiaxuan; and Minister of Foreign Trade Shi Guangsheng.. Tang, Shi, and Xu also took on a more direct role as members of the conference's Preparatory Commission. Wang Guangya and Zhang Yesui, then vice-minister and assistant minister at the Foreign Office, managed day-to-day affairs as the heads of the conference's secretariat.

Mission

The planned overarching theme of the meetings was "Meeting New Challenges in the New Century: Achieving Common Prosperity through Participation and Cooperation", with the subthemes "Sharing the Benefits of Globalization and the New Economy", "Advancing Trade and Investment", and "Promoting Sustained Economic Growth"..

Discussion of globalization and the "New Economy" were focused on ecotechnology, e-commerce, human resource development, and corporate governance.

Discussion of trade and investment focused on non-binding principles of trade facilitation, improving regional investment competitiveness, the next WTO round, and the Bogor Goals regarding trade liberalization.

Discussion of sustained growth focused on international financial cooperation, improving macroeconomic forecasting, and structural reform to improve industrial competitiveness.

In practice, the 11 September Attacks in the United States refocused most of the September and October meetings around counterterrorism; the US wars "on Terror" and with Afghanistan; and cooperation to address the negative economic effects of the attacks....McMillan, Alex Frew,
'Shanghai Accord' Sets APEC Trade Agenda
, ''CNN'', 21 October 2001.

Preparations

The national and municipal governments attached great importance to the APEC summit, in particular to the "grand gathering" of world leaders in Shanghai in October. Ahead of the October events, Shanghai spent a considerable sum on beautifying the city and refurbishing the major 4- and 5-star hotels, ''People's Daily'' (10 Oct 2001),
Shanghai Takes on New Look to Welcome APEC
. including providing them with drinkable tap water. Suzhou Creek—which had been notorious for its foul odor for over 80 years—was thoroughly cleaned. Bridges and other infrastructure were examined and improved where needed, including an expansion of Pudong Airport to accommodate VIP arrivals and departures without inconvenience to other travelers. 320 million was spent improving the city's telecommunications, including internet and satellite upgrades. The Great Firewall was partially opened, with websites for the BBC
...