The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member
economies
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...
in the
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The ''Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire.
List of co ...
that promotes
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
throughout the
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...
region.
[Member Economies – Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation](_blank)
Apec.org. Retrieved 12 April 2014. Following the success of
ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
's series of post-ministerial conferences launched in the mid-1980s, APEC started in 1989,
in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional
trade bloc
A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where barriers to trade (tariffs and others) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states.
Trade blocs can be stand-alon ...
s in other parts of the world; it aimed to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe.
Headquartered in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, APEC is recognized as one of the highest-level multilateral blocs and oldest forums in the Asia-Pacific region, and exerts a significant global influence.
The
heads of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
of all APEC members except
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
(which is represented by a
ministerial-level official under the name
Chinese Taipei
"Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan.
Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...
as ''economic leader'') attend an annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. The location of the meeting rotates annually among the member economies, and a famous tradition, followed for most (but not all) summits, involves the attending leaders dressing in a
national costume
A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...
of the host country. APEC has three official observers: the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
Secretariat, the
Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) is a network of member committees composed of individuals and institutions dedicated to promoting cooperation across the Asia Pacific region, headquartered in Singapore. PECC has 23 full member commit ...
and the
Pacific Islands Forum
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...
Secretariat. APEC's Host Economy of the Year is considered to be invited in the first place for geographical representation to attend
G20
The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, ...
meetings following G20 guidelines.
History
The APEC was initially inspired when
ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
’s series of post-ministerial conferences, launched in the mid-1980s, had demonstrated the feasibility and value of regular conferences among ministerial-level representatives of both developed and developing economies. By 1996, the post ministerial conferences had expanded to embrace 12 members (the then six members of ASEAN and its six dialogue partners). The developments led Australian Prime Minister
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
to believe the necessity of region-wide co-operation on economic matters. In January 1989, Bob Hawke called for more effective economic co-operation across the Pacific Rim region. This led to the first meeting of APEC in the Australian capital of
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
in November, chaired by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister
Gareth Evans. Attended by ministers from twelve countries, the meeting concluded with commitments for future annual meetings in Singapore and South Korea. Ten months later, 12 Asia-Pacific economies met in Canberra, Australia, to establish APEC. The APEC Secretariat, based in Singapore, was established to co-ordinate the activities of the organisation.
During the meeting in 1994 in
Bogor
Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.[Joint Organisations Data Initiative
The Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) is an international collaboration to improve the availability and reliability of data on petroleum and natural gas. First named the "Joint Oil Data Exercise", the collaboration was launched in April ...]
(JODI).
Meeting locations
The location of the meeting is rotated annually among the members.
Member economies
![APEC2006 Roh Bush Abe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/APEC2006_Roh_Bush_Abe.jpg)
Currently, APEC has 21 members. The criterion for membership, however, is that each member must be an independent economic entity, rather than a sovereign state. As a result, APEC uses the term ''member economies'' rather than ''member countries'' to refer to its members. One result of this criterion is that membership of the forum includes Taiwan (officially the Republic of China, participating under the name "Chinese Taipei") alongside People's Republic of China (see
Cross-Strait relations
Cross-Strait relations (sometimes called Mainland–Taiwan relations, or Taiwan-China relations) are the relations between China (officially the People's Republic of China) and Taiwan (officially the Republic of China).
The relationship ...
), as well as Hong Kong, which entered APEC as a British colony but it is now a
. APEC also includes three official observers:
ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
, the
Pacific Islands Forum
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...
and the
Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) is a network of member committees composed of individuals and institutions dedicated to promoting cooperation across the Asia Pacific region, headquartered in Singapore. PECC has 23 full member commit ...
.
Leaders
Leaders
File:Anthony Albanese portrait (cropped).jpg, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
Anthony Albanese
Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
File:Sergio Mattarella met with Hassanal Bolkiah ahead of 2021 G20 Summit (2) (cropped).jpg, Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
Hassanal Bolkiah
Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III ( Jawi: ; born 15 July 1946) is the 29th and current Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei since 1967 and the Prime Minister of Brunei since independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is one ...
,
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
File:Trudeau visit White House for USMCA (cropped).jpg, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
File:Retrato Oficial Presidente Boric Font (cropped).jpg, Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
Gabriel Boric
Gabriel Boric Font (; born 11 February 1986) is a Chilean left-wing politician who is the 37th and current president of Chile, serving since 11 March 2022. Boric studied in the Faculty of Law at the University of Chile, and was the president of ...
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
File:Xi Jinping 2019.jpg, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
File:港府執意推進《逃犯條例》修法民陣謹慎動員民眾抗爭2 (cropped).jpg, Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
John Lee John Lee may refer to:
Academia
* John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society
* John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal
* John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), English
...
,
Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
File:Joko Widodo 2019 official portrait.jpg, Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
Joko Widodo
Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), popularly known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is the 7th and current president of Indonesia. Elected in July 2014, he was the first Indonesian president not to come from an elite ...
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
File:Fumio Kishida 20211004.jpg, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
Fumio Kishida
is a Japanese politician serving as Prime Minister of Japan and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021. A member of the House of Representatives, he previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2017 and ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
File:South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol portrait.jpg, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
Yoon Suk-yeol
Yoon Suk-yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician, former public prosecutor and lawyer who has been serving as the 13th and current president of South Korea since 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as the prosecutor g ...
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
File:Anwar Ibrahim (cropped 1).jpg, Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim ( ms, انور بن ابراهيم, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, IPA: ; born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia since November 2022. He served as the 12 ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
File:Reunión con el presidente electo y equipos de trabajo 6 (cropped).jpg, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mexico ...
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
File:New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2018.jpg, New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
Jacinda Ardern
Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
File:Fumio Kishida and James Marape before the funeral of Shinzo Abe (1) (cropped).jpg, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
James Marape
James Marape (born 24 April 1971) is a Papua New Guinean politician, who is serving as the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea since May 2019. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the el ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
File:Pedro Castillo EU.jpg, Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
Pedro Castillo
José Pedro Castillo Terrones (; born 19 October 1969) is a Peruvian politician, former elementary school teacher, and union leader who served as the president of Peru, President of Peru from 28 July 2021 to 7 December 2022. On 7 December 2022, ...
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
File:Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr (cropped portrait).jpg, Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
Bongbong Marcos
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. ( , , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials PBBM or BBM, is a Filipino politician who is the 17th and current president of the Philippines. He previously served as a senat ...
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
File:Владимир Путин (13-11-2021) (cropped).jpg, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
File:Lee Hsien Loong June 2018.JPG, Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
File:蔡英文官方元首肖像照.png, Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
Tsai Ing-wen
Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...
, President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
(represented by Morris Chang
Morris Chang (; born 10 July 1931), is a Taiwanese-American businessman who built his career in the United States and subsequently in Taiwan. He is the founder, as well as former chairman and CEO, of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (T ...
)
File:Prayut Chan-o-cha at the Enthronement of Naruhito (1).jpg, Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; th, ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา, ; born 21 March 1954) is a Thai politician and retired Royal Thai Army, army officer who has served as the Prime Minister of T ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
File:Joe Biden presidential portrait (cropped).jpg, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
Joe Biden,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
File:Нгуен Суан Фук (01-12-2021).jpg, Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
Nguyễn Xuân Phúc
Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (born 20 July 1954) is a Vietnamese politician currently serving as the President of Vietnam, one of the highest-ranked officials in Vietnam along with Nguyễn Phú Trọng, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet ...
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Possible enlargement
![APEC enlargement](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/APEC_enlargement.svg)
India has requested membership in APEC, and received initial support from the United States, Japan, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Officials have decided not to allow India to join for various reasons, including the fact that India does not border the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, which all current members do. However, India was invited to be an observer for the first time in November 2011.
Bangladesh,
Pakistan,
Sri Lanka,
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
,
Mongolia,
Laos,
Cambodia, Costa Rica,
Colombia,
[ Panama,][ and Ecuador, are among a dozen other economies that have applied for membership in APEC. Colombia applied for APEC's membership as early as in 1995, but its bid was halted as the organisation stopped accepting new members from 1993 to 1996, and the moratorium was further prolonged to 2007 due to the ]1997 Asian Financial Crisis
The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
. Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
has also been actively seeking a separate membership, citing the example of Hong Kong, but the request is opposed by the United States, which currently represents Guam.
Business facilitation
As a regional organization, APEC has always played a leading role in the area of reform initiatives in the area of business facilitation. The APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAPI) has contributed to a reduction of 6% in the cost of business transactions across the region between 2002 and 2006. According to APEC's projections, the cost of conducting business transactions will be reduced by another 5% between 2007 and 2010. To this end, a new Trade Facilitation Action Plan has been endorsed. According to a 2008 research brief published by the World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
as part of its Trade Costs and Facilitation Project, increasing transparency in the region's trading system is critical if APEC is to meet its Bogor Goal targets. The APEC Business Travel Card
The APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) is a travel document issued to business travellers who are citizens of APEC participating economies. Valid for five years, the card eliminates the need for its holder to possess a visa when visiting other APEC ...
, a travel document
A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the beare ...
for visa-free business travel within the region is one of the concrete measures to facilitate business. In May 2010 Russia joined the scheme, thus completing the circle.
Proposed FTAAP
APEC first formally started discussing the concept of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) at its summit in 2006 in Hanoi. However, the proposal for such an area has been around since at least 1966 and Japanese economist 's proposal for a Pacific Free Trade agreement proposal. While it gained little traction, the idea led to the formation of Pacific Trade and Development Conference
The Pacific Trade and Development Conference (PAFTAD) is an informal private academic conference series that, since its origins in 1968, has developed into a driving force behind the development of thought on Pacific trade and development issues a ...
and then the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) is a network of member committees composed of individuals and institutions dedicated to promoting cooperation across the Asia Pacific region, headquartered in Singapore. PECC has 23 full member commit ...
in 1980 and then APEC in 1989.
In the wake of the 2006 summit, economist C. Fred Bergsten advocated a Free Trade Agreement of Asia-Pacific, including the United States amongst the proposed parties to any agreement at that time. His ideas convinced the APEC Business Advisory Council to support this concept. Relatedly, ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
and existing free trade agreement
A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occur ...
(FTA) partners negotiated the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP ) is a free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific nations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Sin ...
(RCEP), not officially including Russia. The Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singa ...
(TPP) without China or Russia involved became the US-promoted trade negotiation in the region. At the APEC summit in Beijing in 2014, the three plans were all in discussion. President Obama hosted a TPP meeting at the US Embassy in Beijing in advance of the APEC gathering.
The proposal for a FTAAP arose due to the lack of progress in the Doha round
The Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda (DDA) is the trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which commenced in November 2001 under then director-general Mike Moore. Its objective was to lower trade barriers a ...
of World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
negotiations, and as a way to overcome the "noodle bowl" effect created by overlapping and conflicting elements of the copious free trade agreements – there were approximately 60 free trade agreements in 2007, with an additional 117 in the process of negotiation in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. In 2012, ASEAN+6 countries alone had 339 free trade agreements – many of which were bilateral.
The FTAAP is more ambitious in scope than the Doha round, which limits itself to reducing trade restrictions. The FTAAP would create a free trade zone that would considerably expand commerce and economic growth in the region.[ No reference to numbers of FTAs.] The economic expansion and growth in trade could exceed the expectations of other regional free trade areas such as the ASEAN Plus Three
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military ...
(ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
+ China, South Korea and Japan).[Policy Briefs in International Economics](_blank)
(PDF) Some criticisms include that the diversion of trade within APEC members would create trade imbalances, market conflicts and complications with nations of other regions. The development of the FTAAP is expected to take many years, involving essential studies, evaluations and negotiations between member economies. It is also affected by the absence of political will and popular agitations and lobbying against free trade in domestic politics.
At the 2014 APEC summit in Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, APEC leaders agreed to launch "a collective strategic study" on the FTAAP and instruct officials to undertake the study, consult stakeholders and report the result by the end of 2016. APEC Executive Director Alan Bollard revealed in the Elite Talk show that FTAAP will be APEC's big goal out into the future.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singa ...
included 12 of the 21 APEC members and had provisions for the accession of other APEC members, five of which expressed interest in membership.
APEC Study Centre Consortium
In 1993, APEC Leaders decided to establish a network of APEC Study Centres (APCs) among universities and research institutions in member economies. The purpose is to foster cooperation among tertiary and research institutes of member economies, thus having better academic collaboration on key regional economic challenges. To encourage independence from the APEC conference, the APCs are funded independently and choose their own research topics.[APEC Study Center Contortium](_blank)
As of December 2018, there are 70 APCs among the member economies. An annual conference is usually held in the host economy for that year.
APEC Business Advisory Council
The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) was created by the APEC Economic Leaders in November 1995 with the aim of providing advice to the APEC Economic Leaders on ways to achieve the Bogor Goals and other specific business sector priorities, and to provide the business perspective on specific areas of co-operation.
Each economy nominates up to three members from the private sector to ABAC. These business leaders represent a wide range of industry sectors. ABAC provides an annual report to APEC Economic Leaders containing recommendations to improve the business and investment environment in the Asia-Pacific region, and outlining business views about priority regional issues. ABAC is also the only non-governmental organisation that is on the official agenda of the APEC Economic Leader's Meeting.
Annual APEC economic leaders' meetings
Since its formation in 1989, APEC has held annual meetings with representatives from all member economies. The first four annual meetings were attended by ministerial-level officials. Beginning in 1993, the annual meetings are named APEC Economic Leaders' Meetings and are attended by the heads of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
from all member economies except Taiwan, which is represented by a ministerial-level official. Despite a similar nature, the annual Leaders' Meetings are not called summits
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a ...
.
Meeting developments
In 1997, the APEC meeting was held in Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
. Controversy arose after officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
used pepper spray
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, cr ...
against protesters. The protesters objected to the presence of autocratic
Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...
leaders such as Indonesian president Suharto
Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...
.[
]
At the 2001 Leaders' Meeting in Shanghai, APEC leaders pushed for a new round of trade negotiations and support for a program of trade capacity-building assistance, leading to the launch of the Doha Development Agenda a few weeks later. The meeting also endorsed the Shanghai Accord proposed by the United States, emphasising the implementation of open markets, structural reform, and capacity building
Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms ''capacity building'' and ''capacity development'' ha ...
. As part of the accord, the meeting committed to develop and implement APEC transparency standards, reduce trade transaction cost
In economics and related disciplines, a transaction cost is a cost in making any economic trade when participating in a market. Oliver E. Williamson defines transaction costs as the costs of running an economic system of companies, and unlike produ ...
s in the Asia-Pacific region by 5 percent over 5 years, and pursue trade liberalisation
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
policies relating to information technology goods and services.
In 2003, Jemaah Islamiah
Jemaah Islamiyah ( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية, ''al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmiyyah'', meaning "Islamic Congregation", frequently abbreviated JI) is a Southeast Asian militant extremist Islamist terrorist group based in Indonesia, which i ...
leader Riduan Isamuddin
Riduan Isamuddin also transliteration, transliterated as Riduan Isamudin, Riduan Isomuddin, and Riduan Isomudin, better known by the ''nom de guerre'' Hambali, born as Encep Nurjaman (April 4, 1964) is the former military leader of the Indonesi ...
had planned to attack the APEC Leaders Meeting to be held in Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
in October. He was captured in the city of Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to:
* Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767
** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom
* Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locally ...
, Thailand by Thai police on 11 August 2003, before he could finish planning the attack.
Chile became the first South American nation to host the Leaders' Meeting in 2004. The agenda of that year was focused on terrorism and commerce, small and medium enterprise
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Bank ...
development, and contemplation of free agreements and regional trade agreements.
The 2005 Leaders' Meeting was held in Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
, South Korea. The meeting focused on the Doha round
The Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda (DDA) is the trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which commenced in November 2001 under then director-general Mike Moore. Its objective was to lower trade barriers a ...
of World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
(WTO) negotiations, leading up to the WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005
The Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, also known as the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference and abbreviated as MC6, was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, Hong Kong from 13 to 18 Dece ...
held in Hong Kong in December. Weeks earlier, trade negotiations in Paris were held between several WTO members, including the United States and the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, centred on reducing agricultural trade barrier
Trade barriers are government-induced restrictions on international trade. According to the theory of comparative advantage, trade barriers are detrimental to the world economy and decrease overall economic efficiency.
Most trade barriers work o ...
s. APEC leaders at the summit urged the European Union to agree to reduce farm subsidies
An agricultural subsidy (also called an agricultural incentive) is a government incentive paid to agribusinesses, agricultural organizations and farms to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and influence t ...
. In a continuation of the climate information sharing initiative established by the APEC Climate Network working group, it was decided by the leaders to install the APEC Climate Center in Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
. Peaceful protests against APEC were staged in Busan, but the meeting schedule was not affected.
At the Leaders' Meeting held on 19 November 2006 in Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
, APEC leaders called for a new start to global free-trade negotiations while condemning terrorism and other threats to security. APEC also criticised North Korea for conducting a nuclear test
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...
and a missile test launch that year, urging the country to take "concrete and effective" steps toward nuclear disarmament
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the Atomic nucleus, nucleus of the atom:
*Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear ...
. Concerns about nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as " Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Wea ...
in the region was discussed in addition to economic topics. The United States and Russia signed an agreement as part of Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization.
The APEC Australia 2007
APEC Australia 2007 was a series of political meetings held around Australia between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2007. Various meetings were held across Australia from January to August 2007, with the ev ...
Leaders' Meeting was held in Sydney from 2–9 September 2007. The political leaders agreed to an "aspirational goal" of a 25% reduction of energy intensity correlative with economic development. Extreme security measures including airborne sharpshooters and extensive steel-and-concrete barricades were deployed against anticipated protesters and potential terrorists. However, protest activities were peaceful and the security envelope was penetrated with ease by a spoof diplomatic motorcade manned by members of the Australian television program ''The Chaser
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. The ...
'', one of whom was dressed to resemble the Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
leader Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
.
The APEC Chile 2019
APEC Chile 2019 would have been an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) series of meetings in Chile. The meetings were supposed to take place in Santiago and focus on the digital economy, regional connectivity, and women's role in economic gr ...
, originally to be held 16–17 November 2019 in Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, was cancelled due to ongoing protests by sections of its population over inequality, the cost of living and police repression.
APEC leaders' group photo
At the end of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, the leaders gather for the official APEC Leaders' Family Photo. A tradition has the leaders dressing to reflect the culture of the host member. The tradition dates to the first such meeting in 1993 when then-U.S. President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
insisted on informal attire and gave the leaders leather bomber jackets. At the 2010 meeting, Japan had the leaders dress in smart casual rather than the traditional kimono
The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...
. Similarly, when Honolulu was selected in 2009 as the site for the 2011 APEC meeting, U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
joked that he looked forward to seeing the leaders dressed in "flowered shirts and grass skirts". After viewing previous photos, and concerned that having the leaders dress in aloha shirt
The aloha shirt (), also referred to as a Hawaiian shirt, is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. They are collared and buttoned dress shirts, usually short-sleeved and made from printed fabric. They are traditionally worn untucked, but ...
s might give the wrong impression during a period of economic austerity, Obama instead decided it might be time to end the tradition. Leaders were given a specially designed aloha shirt as a gift but were not expected to wear it for the photo. Leaders in Bali, Indonesia at the 2013 conference wore a batik outfit; in China 2014 Tang suit jackets; in the Philippines 2015 Barong Tagalogs; in Peru 2016 vicuña wool
Vicuña wool refers to the hair of the South American vicuña, an animal of the family of ''camelidae''. The wool has, after shahtoosh, the second smallest fiber diameter of all animal hair and is the most expensive legal wool.
Properties
The d ...
shawls; in 2017 Vietnamese silk shirts.
File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Brunei 15-16 November-9.jpg, APEC Brunei 2000
File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in China 19-21 October 2001-14.jpg, APEC China 2001
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 le ...
File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Thailand 19-21 October 2003-16.jpg, APEC Thailand 2003
File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Chile 20-21 November 2004-3.jpg, APEC Chile 2004
File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in South Korea 18-19 November 2005-8.jpg, APEC South Korea 2005
File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Vietnam 18-19 November 2006-11.jpg, APEC Vietnam 2006
APEC Vietnam 2006 was a series of political meetings held around Vietnam between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2006. Various meetings were held across Vietnam in 2006. Leaders from all the member countries ...
File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Australia 7-9 September 2007-3.jpg, APEC Australia 2007
File:Dmitry Medvedev at APEC Summit in Peru 22-23 November 2008-2.jpg, APEC Peru 2008
File:Singapore APEC 2009 leaders.jpg, APEC Singapore 2009
File:13.11.2010 Gira a Asia.jpg, APEC Japan 2010
File:APEC Hawaii.jpg, APEC United States 2011
File:APEC Russia 2012.jpg, APEC Russia 2012
File:Apec 2013.jpg, APEC Indonesia 2013
File:APEC Summit China 2014.jpg, APEC China 2014
File:APEC Philippines 2015 delegates.jpg, APEC Philippines 2015
File:Foto Oficial APEC 2016 (LIMA PERU).jpg, APEC Peru 2016
File:2017 APEC Vietnam Leaders Group Photo.jpg, APEC Vietnam 2017
APEC Vietnam 2017 (Vietnamese: ''APEC Việt Nam 2017'') was the year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Vietnam, which culminated with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Đà Nẵng, hosted at InterContinenta ...
File:APEC Leaders Photo - Papua New Guinea 2018.jpg, APEC Papua New Guinea 2018
APEC Papua New Guinea 2018 was the year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Papua New Guinea.
It was the first time Papua New Guinea hosted the APEC meetings. Australia provided a quarter to a third of the cost ...
APEC Summits
* APEC Australia 1989
APEC Australia 1989 was composed of a series of political meetings held around Australia between the 12 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. These meetings were the first of a series of meetings and were held between 5 an ...
* APEC Singapore 1990
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
* APEC South Korea 1991
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
* APEC Thailand 1992
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
* APEC United States 1993
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
* APEC Indonesia 1994
APEC Indonesia 1994 was a series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings focused on economic cooperation, held at the Bogor Palace in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia on 15–16 November 1994. It was the seventh APEC meeting in history and th ...
* APEC Japan 1995
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
* APEC Philippines 1996
APEC Philippines 1996 was a series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings focused on economic cooperation, held at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Subic, Zambales on 24–25 November 1996. It was the eighth APEC meeting in history and th ...
* APEC Canada 1997
APEC Canada 1997 was a series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings focused on economic cooperation, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on 24–25 November 1997. It was the fifth APEC meeting in history, and the second held in the ...
* APEC Malaysia 1998
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
* APEC New Zealand 1999
* APEC Brunei 2000
* APEC China 2001
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 le ...
* APEC Mexico 2002
* APEC Thailand 2003
* APEC Chile 2004
* APEC South Korea 2005
APEC South Korea 2005 was a series of political meetings held around South Korea between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2005. Leaders from all the member countries met from 18 to 19 November 2005 in Busan ...
* APEC Vietnam 2006
APEC Vietnam 2006 was a series of political meetings held around Vietnam between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2006. Various meetings were held across Vietnam in 2006. Leaders from all the member countries ...
* APEC Australia 2007
APEC Australia 2007 was a series of political meetings held around Australia between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2007. Various meetings were held across Australia from January to August 2007, with the ev ...
* APEC Peru 2008
APEC Peru 2008 was a series of political meetings held around Peru between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2008. Although business leaders of the region also met before the summit officially began. Leaders fr ...
* APEC Singapore 2009
APEC Singapore 2009 was a series of political meetings held around Singapore between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2009. It culminated in the 17th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) held in Singapore f ...
* APEC Japan 2010
* APEC United States 2011
APEC United States 2011 was a series of political meetings around the United States between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2011. It culminated in the 19th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held at the Hawaii C ...
* APEC Russia 2012
The APEC Russia 2012 ( rus, Саммит АТЭС Владивосток-2012, Sammit ATES Vladivostok-2012) was the 24th annual gathering of APEC leaders. Leaders from the member economies met on Russky Island, off the coast of Vladivostok, Russ ...
* APEC Indonesia 2013
The APEC Indonesia 2013 was the 25th annual gathering of APEC leaders. It was held in Bali on 5–7 October 2013. The summit also saw the revival of wearing national dress, which had been explicitly discontinued by US President Barack Obama two ye ...
* APEC China 2014
The APEC China 2014 was the 22nd annual gathering of APEC leaders. It was held in Yanqi Lake (), Huairou District, Beijing on 10–12, November 2014.
Attendees
Prior to a two plane tragedies of Malaysia Airlines flight between MH370 and MH17, th ...
* APEC Philippines 2015
APEC Philippines 2015 was the year-long hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings which concluded with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held on 18–19 November 2015 in Pasay, Metro Manila. It was the second time the Philip ...
* APEC Peru 2016
APEC Peru 2016 ( es, link=no, APEC Perú 2016) was the XXVIII year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Peru, which was culminate with the XXIV APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in 19–20 November 2016 in Lima. It ma ...
* APEC Vietnam 2017
APEC Vietnam 2017 (Vietnamese: ''APEC Việt Nam 2017'') was the year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Vietnam, which culminated with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Đà Nẵng, hosted at InterContinenta ...
* APEC Papua New Guinea 2018
APEC Papua New Guinea 2018 was the year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Papua New Guinea.
It was the first time Papua New Guinea hosted the APEC meetings. Australia provided a quarter to a third of the cost ...
* APEC Chile 2019
APEC Chile 2019 would have been an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) series of meetings in Chile. The meetings were supposed to take place in Santiago and focus on the digital economy, regional connectivity, and women's role in economic gr ...
* APEC Malaysia 2020
APEC Malaysia 2020 was the year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Malaysia from December 2019 until November 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the meetings were held virtually, including the culminating ...
* APEC New Zealand 2021
APEC New Zealand 2021 was the year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in New Zealand from December 2020 until November 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the second consecutive year that all of the meetings we ...
* APEC Thailand 2022
)
APEC 2022 Thailand is a year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Thailand took place in 2022. Thailand previously hosted APEC meetings in 2003 and 1992.
The theme for 2022 APEC meetings is "Open. Connect. Bala ...
* APEC USA 2023
Criticism
APEC has been criticised for promoting free trade agreements that would impose restrictions on national and local laws, which regulate and ensure labour rights, environmental protection and safe and affordable access to medicine. According to the organisation, it is "the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region" established to "further enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community". The effectiveness and fairness of its role has been questioned, especially from the viewpoints of European countries that cannot take part in APEC and Pacific Island nations that cannot participate but stand to be affected by its decisions.
See also
* Anti-corruption
Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measu ...
* ASEAN Free Trade Area
The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is a trade bloc agreement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations supporting local trade and manufacturing in all ASEAN countries, and facilitating economic integration with regional and international alli ...
* Asia-Europe Meeting
* Asia-Pacific Trade Agreements Database ThAsia-Pacific Trade and Investment Agreements Database (APTIAD)is a resource for researchers and policymakers in the area of international trade and investment. The online database allows searches in two ways. One relates to the agreements themselv ...
* East Asia Economic Caucus The East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC) or East Asia Economic Group (EAEG) was a regional free trade zone (FTA) proposed in 1997 by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and encompasses most nations of East and Southeast Asia (ESEA). However, Japan ...
* East Asia Summit
The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a regional forum held annually by leaders of, initially, 16 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian and Oceanian regions, based on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations#ASEAN Plus Three and A ...
* Pacific Alliance
The Pacific Alliance ( es, link=no, Alianza del Pacífico) is a Latin American trade bloc, formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, which all border the Pacific Ocean. The alliance was formed with the express purpose of improving regional in ...
* University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP) is a voluntary regional association of government, non-government and/or university representatives of the higher education sector established in 1993 to enhance cooperation and exchange of people ...
* Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) is a network of member committees composed of individuals and institutions dedicated to promoting cooperation across the Asia Pacific region, headquartered in Singapore. PECC has 23 full member commit ...
* List of country groupings
Groups of countries or regions are often referred to by a single term (word, phrase, or abbreviation). The origins of such terms include political alliances, intergovernmental organizations, business market areas, and mere colloquialism.
A
* ...
* List of multilateral free-trade agreements
This is a list of multilateral free-trade agreements, between several countries all treated equally. For agreements between two countries, between a bloc and a country, or between two blocs, see list of bilateral free-trade agreements; these are ...
; Other organisations of coastal states
* Bay of Bengal Initiative
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations, housing 1.73 billion people and having a combined gross domestic pro ...
* Black Sea Economic Cooperation
The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is a regional international organization focusing on multilateral political and economic initiatives aimed at fostering cooperation, peace, stability and prosperity in the Black Sea ...
* Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation
The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative and the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), is an international organisation consisting of 23 states bordering the Indian Ocea ...
* Union for the Mediterranean
The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; french: Union pour la Méditerranée, ar, الإتحاد من أجل المتوسط ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the M ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding APEC
{{Authority control
International economic organizations
International political organizations
International trade organizations
International organizations based in Asia
International organizations based in Oceania
International organizations based in the Americas
Organizations based in North America
Organizations based in South America
Asia-Pacific
Trade blocs
Business organisations based in Singapore
International organisations based in Singapore
Organizations established in 1989
1989 establishments in Asia
1989 establishments in Oceania
1989 establishments in North America
1989 establishments in South America
Articles containing video clips