The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire. List of ...

that promotes

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

throughout the

Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Paci ...

region.Member Economies – Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Apec.org. Retrieved 12 April 2014. Following the success of

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, milita ...

's series of post-ministerial conferences launched in the mid-1980s, APEC started in 1989, in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world; it aimed to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe. Headquartered in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, APEC is recognized as one of the highest-level multilateral blocs and oldest forums in the Asia-Pacific region, and exerts a significant global influence. The

heads of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

of all APEC members except

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

(which is represented by a ministerial-level official under the name

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by the ...

as ''economic leader'') attend an annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. The location of the meeting rotates annually among the member economies, and a famous tradition, followed for most (but not all) summits, involves the attending leaders dressing in a

national costume A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...

of the host country. APEC has three official observers: the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, mi ...

Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and the

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

Secretariat. APEC's Host Economy of the Year is considered to be invited in the first place for geographical representation to attend G20 meetings following G20 guidelines.

History

The APEC was initially inspired when

’s series of post-ministerial conferences, launched in the mid-1980s, had demonstrated the feasibility and value of regular conferences among ministerial-level representatives of both developed and developing economies. By 1996, the post ministerial conferences had expanded to embrace 12 members (the then six members of ASEAN and its six dialogue partners). The developments led Australian Prime Minister

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...

to believe the necessity of region-wide co-operation on economic matters. In January 1989, Bob Hawke called for more effective economic co-operation across the Pacific Rim region. This led to the first meeting of APEC in the Australian capital of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in November, chaired by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Gareth Evans. Attended by ministers from twelve countries, the meeting concluded with commitments for future annual meetings in Singapore and South Korea. Ten months later, 12 Asia-Pacific economies met in Canberra, Australia, to establish APEC. The APEC Secretariat, based in Singapore, was established to co-ordinate the activities of the organisation. During the meeting in 1994 in

Bogor Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI).

Meeting locations

The location of the meeting is rotated annually among the members.

Member economies

Currently, APEC has 21 members. The criterion for membership, however, is that each member must be an independent economic entity, rather than a sovereign state. As a result, APEC uses the term ''member economies'' rather than ''member countries'' to refer to its members. One result of this criterion is that membership of the forum includes Taiwan (officially the Republic of China, participating under the name "Chinese Taipei") alongside People's Republic of China (see Cross-Strait relations), as well as Hong Kong, which entered APEC as a British colony but it is now a

Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China The special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China are one of the provincial-level administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China directly under the control of its Central People's Government (State ...

. APEC also includes three official observers:

, the

and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.

Leaders

File:Anthony Albanese portrait (cropped).jpg,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

File:Sergio Mattarella met with Hassanal Bolkiah ahead of 2021 G20 Summit (2) (cropped).jpg,

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

Hassanal Bolkiah Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III ( Jawi: ; born 15 July 1946) is the 29th and current Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei since 1967 and the Prime Minister of Brunei since independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is on ...

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

File:Trudeau visit White House for USMCA (cropped).jpg,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...

File:Retrato Oficial Presidente Boric Font (cropped).jpg,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

Gabriel Boric,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

File:Xi Jinping 2019.jpg,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

File:港府執意推進《逃犯條例》修法民陣謹慎動員民眾抗爭2 (cropped).jpg,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

John Lee,

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

File:Joko Widodo 2019 official portrait.jpg,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

Joko Widodo Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), popularly known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is the 7th and current president of Indonesia. Elected in July 2014, he was the first Indonesian president not to come from an elit ...

File:Fumio Kishida 20211004.jpg,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

Fumio Kishida is a Japanese politician serving as Prime Minister of Japan and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021. A member of the House of Representatives, he previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2017 an ...

File:South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol portrait.jpg,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Yoon Suk-yeol Yoon Suk-yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician, former public prosecutor and lawyer who has been serving as the 13th and current president of South Korea since 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as the prosecutor ...

File:Anwar Ibrahim (cropped 1).jpg,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim ( ms, انور بن ابراهيم, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, IPA: ; born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia since November 2022. He served as the 1 ...

File:Reunión con el presidente electo y equipos de trabajo 6 (cropped).jpg,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mex ...

File:New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2018.jpg,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Jacinda Ardern,

File:Fumio Kishida and James Marape before the funeral of Shinzo Abe (1) (cropped).jpg,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

James Marape,

File:Pedro Castillo EU.jpg,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

Pedro Castillo José Pedro Castillo Terrones (; born 19 October 1969) is a Peruvian politician, former elementary school teacher, and union leader who served as the President of Peru from 28 July 2021 to 7 December 2022. On 7 December 2022, he was impeached a ...

File:Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr (cropped portrait).jpg,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. ( , , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials PBBM or BBM, is a Filipino politician who is the 17th and current president of the Philippines. He previously served as a sen ...

File:Владимир Путин (13-11-2021) (cropped).jpg,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

File:Lee Hsien Loong June 2018.JPG,

Lee Hsien Loong,

File:蔡英文官方元首肖像照.png,

Tsai Ing-wen,

(represented by Morris Chang) File:Prayut Chan-o-cha at the Enthronement of Naruhito (1).jpg,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Prayut Chan-o-cha Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; th, ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา, ; born 21 March 1954) is a Thai politician and retired army officer who has served as the Prime Minister of Thailand since he ...

File:Joe Biden presidential portrait (cropped).jpg,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Joe Biden,

File:Нгуен Суан Фук (01-12-2021).jpg,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

Nguyễn Xuân Phúc,

Possible enlargement

India has requested membership in APEC, and received initial support from the United States, Japan, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Officials have decided not to allow India to join for various reasons, including the fact that India does not border the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

, which all current members do. However, India was invited to be an observer for the first time in November 2011. Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador, are among a dozen other economies that have applied for membership in APEC. Colombia applied for APEC's membership as early as in 1995, but its bid was halted as the organisation stopped accepting new members from 1993 to 1996, and the moratorium was further prolonged to 2007 due to the

1997 Asian Financial Crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

has also been actively seeking a separate membership, citing the example of Hong Kong, but the request is opposed by the United States, which currently represents Guam.

Business facilitation

As a regional organization, APEC has always played a leading role in the area of reform initiatives in the area of business facilitation. The APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAPI) has contributed to a reduction of 6% in the cost of business transactions across the region between 2002 and 2006. According to APEC's projections, the cost of conducting business transactions will be reduced by another 5% between 2007 and 2010. To this end, a new Trade Facilitation Action Plan has been endorsed. According to a 2008 research brief published by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

as part of its Trade Costs and Facilitation Project, increasing transparency in the region's trading system is critical if APEC is to meet its Bogor Goal targets. The APEC Business Travel Card, a

travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the be ...

for visa-free business travel within the region is one of the concrete measures to facilitate business. In May 2010 Russia joined the scheme, thus completing the circle.

Proposed FTAAP

APEC first formally started discussing the concept of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) at its summit in 2006 in Hanoi. However, the proposal for such an area has been around since at least 1966 and Japanese economist 's proposal for a Pacific Free Trade agreement proposal. While it gained little traction, the idea led to the formation of Pacific Trade and Development Conference and then the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in 1980 and then APEC in 1989. In the wake of the 2006 summit, economist C. Fred Bergsten advocated a Free Trade Agreement of Asia-Pacific, including the United States amongst the proposed parties to any agreement at that time. His ideas convinced the APEC Business Advisory Council to support this concept. Relatedly,

and existing

free trade agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occ ...

(FTA) partners negotiated the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), not officially including Russia. The

Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Pe ...

(TPP) without China or Russia involved became the US-promoted trade negotiation in the region. At the APEC summit in Beijing in 2014, the three plans were all in discussion. President Obama hosted a TPP meeting at the US Embassy in Beijing in advance of the APEC gathering. The proposal for a FTAAP arose due to the lack of progress in the Doha round of

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

negotiations, and as a way to overcome the "noodle bowl" effect created by overlapping and conflicting elements of the copious free trade agreements – there were approximately 60 free trade agreements in 2007, with an additional 117 in the process of negotiation in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. In 2012, ASEAN+6 countries alone had 339 free trade agreements – many of which were bilateral. The FTAAP is more ambitious in scope than the Doha round, which limits itself to reducing trade restrictions. The FTAAP would create a free trade zone that would considerably expand commerce and economic growth in the region. No reference to numbers of FTAs. The economic expansion and growth in trade could exceed the expectations of other regional free trade areas such as the

ASEAN Plus Three ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military ...

(

+ China, South Korea and Japan).Policy Briefs in International Economics
(PDF) Some criticisms include that the diversion of trade within APEC members would create trade imbalances, market conflicts and complications with nations of other regions. The development of the FTAAP is expected to take many years, involving essential studies, evaluations and negotiations between member economies. It is also affected by the absence of political will and popular agitations and lobbying against free trade in domestic politics. At the 2014 APEC summit in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, APEC leaders agreed to launch "a collective strategic study" on the FTAAP and instruct officials to undertake the study, consult stakeholders and report the result by the end of 2016. APEC Executive Director Alan Bollard revealed in the Elite Talk show that FTAAP will be APEC's big goal out into the future. The

included 12 of the 21 APEC members and had provisions for the accession of other APEC members, five of which expressed interest in membership.

APEC Study Centre Consortium

In 1993, APEC Leaders decided to establish a network of APEC Study Centres (APCs) among universities and research institutions in member economies. The purpose is to foster cooperation among tertiary and research institutes of member economies, thus having better academic collaboration on key regional economic challenges. To encourage independence from the APEC conference, the APCs are funded independently and choose their own research topics.APEC Study Center Contortium
As of December 2018, there are 70 APCs among the member economies. An annual conference is usually held in the host economy for that year.

APEC Business Advisory Council

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) was created by the APEC Economic Leaders in November 1995 with the aim of providing advice to the APEC Economic Leaders on ways to achieve the Bogor Goals and other specific business sector priorities, and to provide the business perspective on specific areas of co-operation. Each economy nominates up to three members from the private sector to ABAC. These business leaders represent a wide range of industry sectors. ABAC provides an annual report to APEC Economic Leaders containing recommendations to improve the business and investment environment in the Asia-Pacific region, and outlining business views about priority regional issues. ABAC is also the only non-governmental organisation that is on the official agenda of the APEC Economic Leader's Meeting.

Annual APEC economic leaders' meetings

Since its formation in 1989, APEC has held annual meetings with representatives from all member economies. The first four annual meetings were attended by ministerial-level officials. Beginning in 1993, the annual meetings are named APEC Economic Leaders' Meetings and are attended by the

from all member economies except Taiwan, which is represented by a ministerial-level official. Despite a similar nature, the annual Leaders' Meetings are not called summits.

Meeting developments

In 1997, the APEC meeting was held in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

. Controversy arose after officers of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

used

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, ...

against protesters. The protesters objected to the presence of autocratic leaders such as Indonesian president

Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto l ...

. At the

2001 Leaders' Meeting APEC China 2001 was a series of economic and political meetings between the 21 member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum held in the People's Republic of China during 2001. Various meetings were held across the country, with le ...

in Shanghai, APEC leaders pushed for a new round of trade negotiations and support for a program of trade capacity-building assistance, leading to the launch of the Doha Development Agenda a few weeks later. The meeting also endorsed the Shanghai Accord proposed by the United States, emphasising the implementation of open markets, structural reform, and

capacity building Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms ''capacity building'' and ''capacity development'' ha ...

. As part of the accord, the meeting committed to develop and implement APEC transparency standards, reduce trade transaction costs in the Asia-Pacific region by 5 percent over 5 years, and pursue trade liberalisation policies relating to information technology goods and services. In 2003,

Jemaah Islamiah Jemaah Islamiyah ( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية, ''al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmiyyah'', meaning "Islamic Congregation", frequently abbreviated JI) is a Southeast Asian militant extremist Islamist terrorist group based in Indonesia, which i ...

leader Riduan Isamuddin had planned to attack the APEC Leaders Meeting to be held in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

in October. He was captured in the city of Ayutthaya, Thailand by Thai police on 11 August 2003, before he could finish planning the attack. Chile became the first South American nation to host the Leaders' Meeting in 2004. The agenda of that year was focused on terrorism and commerce,

small and medium enterprise Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Ba ...

development, and contemplation of free agreements and regional trade agreements. The 2005 Leaders' Meeting was held in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...

, South Korea. The meeting focused on the Doha round of

(WTO) negotiations, leading up to the WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005 held in Hong Kong in December. Weeks earlier, trade negotiations in Paris were held between several WTO members, including the United States and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, centred on reducing agricultural

trade barrier Trade barriers are government-induced restrictions on international trade. According to the theory of comparative advantage, trade barriers are detrimental to the world economy and decrease overall economic efficiency. Most trade barriers work o ...

s. APEC leaders at the summit urged the European Union to agree to reduce

farm subsidies An agricultural subsidy (also called an agricultural incentive) is a government incentive paid to agribusinesses, agricultural organizations and farms to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and influence the ...

. In a continuation of the climate information sharing initiative established by the APEC Climate Network working group, it was decided by the leaders to install the

APEC Climate Center The APEC Climate Center (APCC) is a governmental institution that conducts research in climate prediction, analysis and climate change application areas. It also provides climate information services and capacity building programs with the aim of st ...

. Peaceful protests against APEC were staged in Busan, but the meeting schedule was not affected. At the Leaders' Meeting held on 19 November 2006 in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

, APEC leaders called for a new start to global free-trade negotiations while condemning terrorism and other threats to security. APEC also criticised North Korea for conducting a nuclear test and a missile test launch that year, urging the country to take "concrete and effective" steps toward nuclear disarmament. Concerns about

nuclear proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as " Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Wea ...

in the region was discussed in addition to economic topics. The United States and Russia signed an agreement as part of Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization. The APEC Australia 2007 Leaders' Meeting was held in Sydney from 2–9 September 2007. The political leaders agreed to an "aspirational goal" of a 25% reduction of energy intensity correlative with economic development. Extreme security measures including airborne sharpshooters and extensive steel-and-concrete barricades were deployed against anticipated protesters and potential terrorists. However, protest activities were peaceful and the security envelope was penetrated with ease by a spoof diplomatic motorcade manned by members of the Australian television program ''

The Chaser The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. Th ...

'', one of whom was dressed to resemble the

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

leader

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until his death in 2011. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, his group is designated ...

. The APEC Chile 2019, originally to be held 16–17 November 2019 in

, was cancelled due to ongoing protests by sections of its population over inequality, the cost of living and police repression.

APEC leaders' group photo

At the end of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, the leaders gather for the official APEC Leaders' Family Photo. A tradition has the leaders dressing to reflect the culture of the host member. The tradition dates to the first such meeting in 1993 when then-U.S. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

insisted on informal attire and gave the leaders leather bomber jackets. At the 2010 meeting, Japan had the leaders dress in smart casual rather than the traditional

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

. Similarly, when Honolulu was selected in 2009 as the site for the 2011 APEC meeting, U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

joked that he looked forward to seeing the leaders dressed in "flowered shirts and grass skirts". After viewing previous photos, and concerned that having the leaders dress in

aloha shirt The aloha shirt (), also referred to as a Hawaiian shirt, is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. They are collared and buttoned dress shirts, usually short-sleeved and made from printed fabric. They are traditionally worn untucked, but ...

s might give the wrong impression during a period of economic austerity, Obama instead decided it might be time to end the tradition. Leaders were given a specially designed aloha shirt as a gift but were not expected to wear it for the photo. Leaders in Bali, Indonesia at the 2013 conference wore a batik outfit; in China 2014 Tang suit jackets; in the Philippines 2015 Barong Tagalogs; in Peru 2016

vicuña wool Vicuña wool refers to the hair of the South American vicuña, an animal of the family of ''camelidae''. The wool has, after shahtoosh, the second smallest fiber diameter of all animal hair and is the most expensive legal wool. Properties The ...

shawls; in 2017 Vietnamese silk shirts. File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Brunei 15-16 November-9.jpg, APEC Brunei 2000 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in China 19-21 October 2001-14.jpg,

APEC China 2001 APEC China 2001 was a series of economic and political meetings between the 21 member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum held in the People's Republic of China during 2001. Various meetings were held across the country, with ...

File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Thailand 19-21 October 2003-16.jpg, APEC Thailand 2003 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Chile 20-21 November 2004-3.jpg, APEC Chile 2004 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in South Korea 18-19 November 2005-8.jpg, APEC South Korea 2005 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Vietnam 18-19 November 2006-11.jpg, APEC Vietnam 2006 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Australia 7-9 September 2007-3.jpg, APEC Australia 2007 File:Dmitry Medvedev at APEC Summit in Peru 22-23 November 2008-2.jpg, APEC Peru 2008 File:Singapore APEC 2009 leaders.jpg, APEC Singapore 2009 File:13.11.2010 Gira a Asia.jpg, APEC Japan 2010 File:APEC Hawaii.jpg, APEC United States 2011 File:APEC Russia 2012.jpg, APEC Russia 2012 File:Apec 2013.jpg, APEC Indonesia 2013 File:APEC Summit China 2014.jpg, APEC China 2014 File:APEC Philippines 2015 delegates.jpg, APEC Philippines 2015 File:Foto Oficial APEC 2016 (LIMA PERU).jpg, APEC Peru 2016 File:2017 APEC Vietnam Leaders Group Photo.jpg, APEC Vietnam 2017 File:APEC Leaders Photo - Papua New Guinea 2018.jpg, APEC Papua New Guinea 2018

APEC Summits

* APEC Australia 1989 * APEC Singapore 1990 * APEC South Korea 1991 *

APEC Thailand 1992 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

APEC United States 1993 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

* APEC Indonesia 1994 *

APEC Japan 1995 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

* APEC Philippines 1996 *

APEC Canada 1997 APEC Canada 1997 was a series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings focused on economic cooperation, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on 24–25 November 1997. It was the fifth APEC meeting in history, and the second held in the ...

APEC Malaysia 1998 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

APEC New Zealand 1999 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

APEC Brunei 2000 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

APEC Mexico 2002 APEC Mexico 2002 was a series of political meetings held around Mexico between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2002. Leaders from all member countries met from 26–27 October 2002 in Los Cabos. Counter-ter ...

APEC Thailand 2003 ) , caption = APEC Thailand 2003 delegates , keypoints = , country = Thailand , date = 20–21 October , venues = Bangkok , follows = APEC Mexico 2002, 2002 , precedes = APEC Chile 2004, 2004 , website apec2003.org APEC Thailand 2003 was a ...

APEC Chile 2004 ) , follows = 2003 , precedes = 2005 , website apec2004.cl APEC Chile 2004 was a series of political meetings held around Chile between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2004. Leaders from all the member cou ...

APEC South Korea 2005 APEC South Korea 2005 was a series of political meetings held around South Korea between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2005. Leaders from all the member countries met from 18 to 19 November 2005 in Busan. ...

* APEC Vietnam 2006 * APEC Australia 2007 * APEC Peru 2008 *

APEC Singapore 2009 APEC Singapore 2009 was a series of political meetings held around Singapore between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2009. It culminated in the 17th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) held in Singapore f ...

APEC Japan 2010 APEC Japan 2010 was a series of political meetings held around Japan between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2010. It culminated in the 18th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held in Yokohama from November 13� ...

APEC United States 2011 APEC United States 2011 was a series of political meetings around the United States between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2011. It culminated in the 19th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held at the Hawaii C ...

APEC Russia 2012 The APEC Russia 2012 ( rus, Саммит АТЭС Владивосток-2012, Sammit ATES Vladivostok-2012) was the 24th annual gathering of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC leaders. Leaders from the member economies met on Russky Island, ...

* APEC Indonesia 2013 *

APEC China 2014 The APEC China 2014 was the 22nd annual gathering of APEC leaders. It was held in Yanqi Lake (), Huairou District, Beijing on 10–12, November 2014. Attendees Prior to a two plane tragedies of Malaysia Airlines flight between MH370 and MH17, this ...

APEC Philippines 2015 APEC Philippines 2015 was the year-long hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings which concluded with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held on 18–19 November 2015 in Pasay, Metro Manila. It was the second time the Phil ...

APEC Peru 2016 APEC Peru 2016 ( es, link=no, APEC Perú 2016) was the XXVIII year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Peru, which was culminate with the XXIV APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in 19–20 November 2016 in Lima. It ma ...

* APEC Vietnam 2017 * APEC Papua New Guinea 2018 * APEC Chile 2019 * APEC Malaysia 2020 * APEC New Zealand 2021 * APEC Thailand 2022 * APEC USA 2023

Criticism

APEC has been criticised for promoting free trade agreements that would impose restrictions on national and local laws, which regulate and ensure labour rights, environmental protection and safe and affordable access to medicine. According to the organisation, it is "the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region" established to "further enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community". The effectiveness and fairness of its role has been questioned, especially from the viewpoints of European countries that cannot take part in APEC and Pacific Island nations that cannot participate but stand to be affected by its decisions.

Notes

References

External links

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding APEC
{{Authority control International economic organizations International political organizations International trade organizations International organizations based in Asia International organizations based in Oceania International organizations based in the Americas Organizations based in North America Organizations based in South America Asia-Pacific Trade blocs Business organisations based in Singapore International organisations based in Singapore Organizations established in 1989 1989 establishments in Asia 1989 establishments in Oceania 1989 establishments in North America 1989 establishments in South America Articles containing video clips

History

Meeting locations

Member economies

Leaders

Leaders

Possible enlargement

Business facilitation

Proposed FTAAP

APEC Study Centre Consortium

APEC Business Advisory Council

Annual APEC economic leaders' meetings

Meeting developments

APEC leaders' group photo

APEC Summits

Criticism

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links