Asia Times: While APEC talks of war, China seeks allies


	October 13, 2001	atimes.com

China

While APEC talks of war, China seeks allies
By Antoaneta Bezlova

BEIJING - When 21 Asia-Pacific leaders gather in China next week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, their traditional agenda of promoting free trade will shift to include the intensifying international "war on terrorism" and its impact on the global economy.

China hopes to use the opportunity of hosting the first major international gathering since last month's attacks on the United States to win foreign support for its internal fight with Muslim separatists. As the highest profile meeting held on Chinese soil in the 50 years of Communist Party rule, the upcoming summit is also seen by Beijing as a chance to showcase the robustness of the Chinese economy amid the global slump.

Despite fears that the US-led strikes on Afghanistan would cause many of the APEC leaders to cancel their participation in the Shanghai summit, Chinese officials say they are positive the meeting will go ahead as planned in Shanghai, the county's bustling financial hub. "It shouldn't have any effect on our plans and although we can't be sure of specific scheduling changes, we are confident it shouldn't influence our work," the China Daily quoted an official from the Shanghai APEC preparatory office this week.

"The host metropolis is already prepared for next week's APEC activities and its residents are excitedly counting down the days until it starts," Shanghai mayor Xu Kuangdi said Thursday.

The meetings kick off on Monday with talks among APEC senior officials, followed by trade and foreign ministers and culminating in an October 20-21 summit of leaders, which will include Chinese President Jiang Zemin, US President George W Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Since its inception in November 1989, APEC has grown from an informal dialogue of 12 Pacific Rim economies to a major regional institution with 21 members. APEC leaders meet annually with the goal of advancing both economic cooperation and trade liberalization in the Asia Pacific region.

This year, a major issue will be formulating a resolution on the global fight against terrorism that would conform to the interests of all APEC members. "The economies of the Asia-Pacific would be deeply influenced by the US-led war on Afghanistan and it is only natural that the APEC would be dominated by the fight against terrorism," said Pang Zhongying, professor at the Institute of International Relations of Qinghua University.

In the past, APEC has been criticized for not being able to exercise influence as an international organization. During the Asian economic crisis in 1997, APEC members failed to agree on a common agenda for coping with the repercussions of the crisis. Similarly, at the Brunei meeting last year they failed to harmonize clashing interests of the developing and developed nations when discussing the new round of WTO trade talks.

Addressing the issue, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said in September that as the host, China was already discussing the detailed documents with other parties, making sure that the meetings will adopt proper forms on the basis of consensus.

In the clearest sign yet that China hopes to use of the global anti-terror sentiment to its own advantage, Beijing called Thursday for foreign support in its fight against Muslim separatists in the country's far west. Activists campaigning for the creation of an independent nation of East Turkestan have been blamed for sporadic bombings and killings. The Foreign Ministry spokesman said Beijing had evidence that separatists in the Xinjiang autonomous region "have not only participated in terrorist activities; they have also had links with international terrorist groups or elements."

"We hope that efforts to fight against the East Turkestan terrorist forces should become a part of the international efforts and should also win support and understanding," spokesman Sun Yuxi said at a regular briefing.

As it grapples with responses to the terrorist attacks, APEC would have to assess the damage done to the Asia-Pacific economies. The 1994 Bogor Declaration set the target date for liberalization of trade and investment at 2010 for industrialized nations and 2020 for developing nations.

However, the Asian economic crisis delayed the timetable and APEC has not been able to clearly settle on new target dates. Fears are ripe that the ongoing anti-terror campaign would push the target dates back even further.

This is a crucial year for the world trading system as the process of supporting global economic growth is closely linked to reaching agreement for a new round of multilateral trade negotiations in the WTO. APEC trade ministers meeting in Shanghai in June stressed the urgency of reaching agreement to start a new round this year.

With the Shanghai APEC Leaders' meeting falling shortly before the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, China could play an important role in building support for a new round. China, a major trading economy, will shortly become a fully-fledged WTO member.

By hosting the APEC summit in cosmopolitan Shanghai, a key engine for the country's impressive seven to eight percent economic growth, China wants to show it is serious about reform and openness and keeping in step with the liberalization of trade advocated by APEC.

(Inter Press Service)

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