Inclusive roadmap to future

Before the start of the weeklong 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Beijing, the average man on the street was probably more curious about what might happen on the sidelines.

Would Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe get his coveted chance to talk with President Xi Jinping? What would it be like when the Russian president met his US counterpart? To what extent would other APEC members agree to help our efforts to track down corrupt officials that have fled the country?

And, of course, every resident of the host city wondered for how long the costly clear skies, dubbed APEC blue, would last.

But the rich harvest from the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, which Xi fittingly described as fruitful, indicates that the now 25-year-old APEC is a lot more than just a showpiece.

The strategic consensus on building an integrated, innovative and interconnected Asia-Pacific, the roadmap for the realization of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, along with the strategic blueprint for promoting global value chains development and cooperation, show that APEC has grown to be a worthy consensus - and partnership-builder.

The open, inclusive, balanced, and universally beneficial framework of regional economic cooperation it envisages will prove a substantial boost to regional economic integration and global economic prospects that buttress an Asia-Pacific dream of shared prosperity.

The FTAAP, meant to address "next-generation" trade and investment issues, has evolved from a mere concept in 2006 to today's increasingly tangible design that has the support of sensible pathways. The roadmap the Beijing meeting has endorsed represents a concrete step toward its realization.

If APEC can successfully incubate the proposed FTAAP outside of and parallel with the APEC process, its contribution to the region may transcend the economy.

But the distracting episodes during the APEC gathering in Beijing should be head-cooling reminders that integration will be easier said than done.

Beautiful as it is, the FTAAP will be unreachable with multiple main members of APEC bogged down in political strife. Absent an atmosphere of trust, the synergy indispensable for the fulfillment of the APEC's economic ambitions will remain illusive.

So if the APEC leaders are truly committed to what they have pledged in Beijing, they should take a serious look at the political stumbling blocks that impede regional economic collaboration, ask themselves what is in their best interests, and echo Xi's calls to "pacificate the region".

The current state of matters within APEC that counts against its aspirations has to be changed.