The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit 2001 opened in Shanghai Thursday afternoon with the presence of some 500 chief executive officers and general managers of over 300 overseas big companies and some 80 Chinese enterprises. Qian Qichen, vice premier of China, addressed the Summit on behalf of the Chinese government and extends his cordial congratulation on its opening. Yu Xiaosong, chairman of the Organizing Committee of APEC CEO Summit 2001 and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and Mr. Xu Kuangdi, mayor of Shanghai, also addressed the Summit.

In his address, Qian spoke highly of the important role that business leaders have played in promoting the economic prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and economic cooperation in the region as well as in the world at large.

“The APEC CEO Summit has set up a platform for communication and cooperation, which gives expression to the long-held APEC spirit of equality and cooperation. Today, the elite of the Asia-Pacific business community meet once again in Shanghai to express their views and discuss major issues under the theme of ‘New Century, New Economy: Developing in the Globalizing World,’” Qian said.

Qian called for strengthening cooperation between entrepreneurs and governments.

“This will be an occasion under the new situation for important communication and exchanges between entrepreneurs as well as between entrepreneurs and governments. It will help increase cooperation between enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region as well as strengthen relations between the enterprises and governments,” said Qian.

Qian said that in the new century, the trend towards economic globalization has grown stronger. The New Economy has developed at an extraordinary speed. The economic situation in the Asia-Pacific region has undergone many changes. As major players in economic activities and technological innovation, enterprises are obviously under pressure from competition. However, a wider range of competition implies a wider range of cooperation at the same time.

Enterprises from different APEC economies can bring into play their respective comparative advantages, boost inter-regional economic and technological cooperation, optimize the allocation of resources in a wider scope and on a greater scale and achieve an all-win outcome while seeking to maximize their profits, Qian said.

Qian said that the Chinese market and the world market will be more closely integrated as China's accession to the WTO is imminent. China's economic development will also depend more on its economic exchanges and cooperation with other countries and regions in the world, especially the Asia-Pacific region.

“An open China cannot do without the world. After its entry into the WTO, China will honor its commitments and more vigorously advance its all-directional, multi-tiered and wide-ranging opening-up. China will further open up its domestic market, increase open areas and localities, take well-measured steps to open wider in such service sectors as finance, insurance, telecom, trade and tourism and actively explore new approaches and ways to utilize foreign capital.”

In his speech, Yu Xiaosong put forward that particular views of attendant elites on the economic development will help to meet challenges, overcome difficulties and reverse the slowdown of the world economy, thus bringing it back into the right track.

Xu Kuangdi, mayor of Shanghai, extended his warm welcome to the delegates on behalf of Shanghai municipal government and the 13 million Shanghai citizens. He says that the opening up of Shanghai is in great need of further exchange and cooperation with all countries and regions all over the world in the fields of economy, science and technology, and culture.

“The hosting of APEC meetings this year undoubtedly offers Shanghai an opportunity hard to come by. Shanghai will further improve its investment environment and market order, and more vigorously face the opportunities and challenges brought by the economic globalization,” the mayor said.

More than 500 CEOs of world-renowned companies from the 21 APEC-member economies are attending the APEC meetings. Among them, 300 are overseas companies, including FedEx, HSBC, Hewlett-Packard, General Motors, Microsoft, Citigroup, Unocal, Nationwide, Deloitte, AOL Time Warner, Amway, Applied Materials, Goldman Sachs, and Mitsui. The Summit also has delegates from over 80 Chinese companies in sectors such as finance, automobile manufacture, steel, worldwide shipping, oil, electricity, transportation, trade, and high technology.

The summit will last three days with a series of forum under the theme is "New Century, New Economy: Developing in the Globalizing World."

(Edited by Xiaowei for china.org.cn from reports of Xinhua News Agency and October 18, 2001)