'Beijing Agenda' can propel APEC forward

The APEC meeting in Manila is likely to take a vital step toward opening up the Asia-Pacific economies and realizing the Asia-Pacific dream of common prosperity, development and progress. And there is reason to believe that 2015 will go down in APEC history as a year of utmost importance.

Over the past several years, several bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements have been signed in the Asia-Pacific region. This is a good sign because it shows all economies in the region are seeking openness, cooperation and common prosperity. But they have also given rise to a problem because many FTAs are exclusive and aimed at benefiting its members at the cost of non-members.

The "Beijing Agenda", whose details are expected to be released later this year, will help solve this problem because, according to it, APEC will play a guiding role in promoting open trade among economies in the Asia-Pacific.

Having participated as a senior Chinese official at the 1996 APEC meeting in Subic Bay, the Philippines, I know how China raised the concept of "APEC approach" which got unanimously passed. The approach accepts the diversity of APEC members, allows them to be flexible, insists on the principle of consensus, and drafts a strategic direction for its members. That has been the key to APEC's success over the past 19 years.

Now the "APEC approach" needs to be improved, so that it reflects today's realities. And we expect all to support it so that it can play a bigger role in opening up the economies in the Asia-Pacific region.

The author is executive director of the Strategy Study Center, China Foundation for International Studies, and China's former senior official to APEC.