APEC meetings kick off in Yokohama to shape region`s future vision+

YOKOHAMA, Nov. 7 Kyodo -
A series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum gatherings kicked off
Sunday in Yokohama to culminate in a summit meeting next weekend, with senior
officials engaging in final preparatory talks to shape the region's future
vision for sustainable growth and economic integration.
The annual APEC meetings, being held in Japan for the first time since 1995,
could also be an opportunity for Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to score
diplomatic points as Tokyo struggles to handle relations with China and Russia
amid renewed territorial spats.
The senior officials from 21 Pacific Rim economies will meet through Monday, to
be followed by a meeting of trade and foreign ministers on Wednesday and
Thursday, and by the summit on Nov. 13 and 14, which will be attended by U.S.
President Barack Obama and other leaders. But U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton will be absent from the ministerial meeting.
A Japanese government official who briefed reporters about Sunday's senior
officials' meeting said member economies are reaching an understanding they
should open ''a new era for APEC'' and that the following week will be spent to
put down in writing the next steps the forum should take toward that end.
During the meetings in the eastern Japanese port city, the forum that accounts
for more than half the world's economic output is expected to outline how to
pursue a proposed region-wide free trade area and compile its first regional
economic growth strategy.
The APEC forum hopes to set a future vision at this year's annual summit amid
the changing global economic landscape, and because 2010 is a target year for
its developed members to attain their self-imposed goal of free and open trade
and investment.
The future initiatives are expected to be mapped out in the leaders'
declaration, likely to be called the ''Yokohama vision,'' to be issued after
the summit meeting.
The declaration is expected to present ''possible pathways'' to achieve the
so-called Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, or FTAAP, referring to various
multilateral frameworks that exist in the region such as the ''ASEAN plus
three'' and a trans-Pacific free trade agreement.
China is known to prefer the ASEAN plus three, which groups Japan, China, South
Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, while the
United States is promoting the other framework, called the Trans-Pacific
Partnership agreement, as the potential core for creating FTAAP.
The TPP originated in a free trade agreement among Brunei, Chile, New Zealand
and Singapore, and negotiations are under way to expand it with five other APEC
countries, including major agricultural exporters such as the United States and
Australia.
Japan explained at the senior officials' meeting its just-decided basic
national policy on free trade, in which it hinted a positive stance toward
possibly joining the TPP initiative and vowed to promote reform of the
agricultural industry and other areas.
Some APEC economies gave favorable responses to Japan's policy, such as in the
point that Tokyo showed its determination to conduct domestic reform, another
government official said.
But in Japan, strong concerns remain in the government and the ruling parties
about the possible adverse impact the TPP accord could bring to highly
protected domestic farmers, as it requires members in principle to reduce all
tariffs to zero.
Against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis, the APEC forum is at the
same time working to craft an economic growth strategy, which is expected to
seek an improvement in the region's ''quality of growth'' through job creation,
structural reforms and other means.
On the sidelines of the summit, Kan is likely to meet with Obama to enhance
their countries' ties in security and economic areas. Kan's talks with Chinese
and Russian leaders, if realized, are also expected to draw attention, given
that Japan has been having difficulties with the two countries over territorial
issues.
Set up in 1989, APEC accounts for about 52.7 percent of the world's gross
domestic product and 44.4 percent of global trade by value. It operates on the
basis of nonbinding commitments.
Its members are Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea,
Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Taiwan, the United States,
and seven ASEAN members -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
==Kyodo