Algernon Yau attends APEC Ministerial Meeting via video conference, stresses importance of strengthened cooperation among member economies

On the evening of November 3, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau attended the 37th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting held via video conference. This year's APEC China year is themed "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Promote Common Prosperity." Speaking at a discussion session, Yau stressed that amid a rapidly changing situation and fast-paced technological development, member economies must work together to achieve common prosperity through strengthened dialogue and cooperation. Citing digital transformation as an example, Yau said member economies must continue practical cooperation, adopt a people-oriented and inclusive approach, and leverage their respective digital technology advantages. At the local level, Hong Kong is strengthening its research capabilities in frontier technologies and launching related initiatives to promote public awareness of artificial intelligence and encourage responsible use of AI. Hong Kong looks forward to sharing experience and learning from other member economies in this regard. In addition, Yau called on member economies to continue strengthening connectivity across various fields, promote the efficient flow of goods, services, capital and people, while narrowing development gaps and creating opportunities for all sectors within the region. He added that any cooperation among member economies should continue to be guided by the Putrajaya Vision 2040 and the Aotearoa Plan of Action. At another discussion session, Yau shared insights on how to strengthen economic integration to drive new regional growth. He noted that strengthening economic integration has always been a core objective of APEC, and one direction is to continue advancing the development of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). Yau said: "To make greater contributions to advancing the FTAAP agenda, Hong Kong has been actively seeking early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). We welcome the establishment of an accession working group for Hong Kong by RCEP in September this year, and hope that our accession can inject new momentum into advancing the FTAAP agenda." Yau also stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation to address major changes in the trade and economic landscape. As technological innovation increasingly changes the operational models of international trade, deepening cooperation in this area is crucial to promoting cross-border trade and investment. He added that to achieve this goal, Hong Kong fully supports the proposed Cooperative Framework on Trade Digitalization as a guiding document for future cooperation. Furthermore, Yau stressed that the multilateral trading system must continue to serve as the cornerstone of regional integration and international trade. He said: "We call on member economies to continue supporting the reform agenda of the World Trade Organization (WTO), integrate plurilateral initiatives into the WTO framework, find a permanent solution to the non-imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions, and advance the work programme on e-commerce."