The 32nd Informal Meeting of Leaders of the APEC (APEC) will be held in South Korea. The Executive Director of the Secretariat of the APEC, Edward Pedrosa, said in an exclusive interview with reporters of the Global Times in South Korea on 28th that China has experience in hosting international conferences and is expected to successfully hold an organized informal meeting of leaders of the APEC in 2026, steadily working to advance the APEC's "Butragara Vision 2040".

At present, protectionism and unilateralism are on the rise in some economies, and regional and global trade is facing severe challenges. The whole world is paying attention to how the leaders of APEC economies will deal with this problem. Pedrosa said that in this context, APEC provides a key platform for frank dialogue. He said, "One of the great advantages of APEC is that it is a non-binding forum. Therefore, we have the opportunity to communicate frankly, clearly explain the problems we face, the reasons for adopting different policies, and have a sincere dialogue on the considerations behind the policies."

Despite the many discussions on uncertainty in the field of trade, Pedroza believes that cooperation remains the core focus. When asked what aspects of this year¡¯s meeting should be addressed, he said: ¡°I want to say focus on those unexpected cooperations. We live in a world where everyone is talking about volatility and uncertainty, but from the APEC¡¯s perspective, cooperation will be more than disagreement.¡±

Asked about tariffs and trade protectionism, Pedroza said that at the relevant trade conferences there has been a very frank discussion of trade policy: why to impose tariffs and what are the economies expecting from each other to lower those tariffs?

"Looking ahead, what we really need to achieve is high-quality growth. This needs to be achieved by increasing productivity and building a market structure conducive to inclusive growth," Pedrosa said. He added: "There is no doubt that tariffs are part of the problem, but there are other aspects that need to be explored, such as services-the economies of our economies are largely driven by services today."

In the interview, the head of the APEC secretariat also talked about China's role and contribution in the organization-China is about to host the 2026 APEC Leaders 'Informal Meeting.

¡°This will be China¡¯s third time to host the APEC conference. China has experience in hosting such an international conference, so we look forward to seeing a well-organized meeting again, while continuing to advance on the basis of previous host work to the APEC¡¯s ¡°Butragaya Vision 2040,¡± Pedroza said.

The "Putrajaya Vision 2040" adopted by APEC leaders in 2020 proposes that "by 2040, an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community will be built for the prosperity of all people and future generations. Work hard."

Pedroza said that various regional trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) are seen as ¡°the path toward the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Zone.¡±