APEC forum opens for business

By Alex Frew McMillan
CNN in Shanghai

SHANGHAI, China (CNN) -- This week's forum of Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation nations marks the first big gathering of dignitaries since the September 11 attacks.

But APEC's mandate is all business, and its organizers are keen to shift the focus back to trade.

The gathering comes at a vital time, with much of the world at risk of or in recession.

The delegates are keen to give consumer and public confidence a boost at an uncertain time.

It's a very significant gathering on the economic front.

The world's two biggest economies, the United States and Japan, are among APEC's 21 members. Combined, APEC's member nations account for around 44 percent of the world's economic output.

Still, APEC's past has been largely ceremonial. Observers expect a lot of talk of "cooperation" and a recommitment to free trade.

A declaration that the APEC trade ministers are drafting through Thursday, which they will then pass on to their leaders, stresses optimism in the face of a "synchronized slowdown" and the need for APEC to work together.

City ground to standstill

VIDEO

CNN's John King reports that U.S. President George W. Bush will proceed with plans to attend the APEC conference in Shanghai, China (October 16)

Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

RESOURCES

Key economic information on APEC members

•	APEC preview

•	War on terror reactions

MORE STORIES

•	Countries, big and small, ready for APEC stage

The forum is also the most important gathering of overseas dignitaries on Chinese soil in half a century.

China, which has called in 100,000 staff and security for the event, is dead set the event will pass without a hitch.

Shanghai is bedecked in the glory of its gleaming skyscrapers, APEC flags flutter blue, red, green and orange along every main road and security is everywhere.

But the city has ground to a standstill, with schools and businesses given a five-day holiday through Sunday. Subways are shut.

The business district of Pudong, the heart of Shanghai commerce and site of the APEC event, has a touch of the feel of a ghost town Wednesday.

A gusty wind dusts through Pudong's wide avenues, which are half-empty.

Sideline issues

APEC, formed in 1989, spans both Asia and the Pacific, including members as far flung as Chile, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Russia and Brunei. So besides the concerns of the power players - the United States, Japan, China and Russia - there will be a host of sideline issues to discuss in bilateral meetings.

The September 11 attacks in the U.S., and the continuing American retaliation in Afghanistan, give the proceedings an edge. The events have unexpectedly overshadowed China's chance to showcase its economic wares.

But they also mean the world is paying more attention to this week's forum than it otherwise might.

The organizers, aware that discussion will inevitably turn to terrorism, have done their best to split it out from the rest of the proceedings, which it risks dominating.

'Shanghai accord'


Shanghai's Pudong business district resembled a ghost town Wednesday

The APEC summit started Monday, with progressively more important meetings continuing through Sunday.

Trade ministers are gathering Wednesday and Thursday, with the leaders of the 21 members getting together over the weekend.

On the business front, the main result may be to reaffirm a commitment to free trade.

The APEC nations have been working toward a "Shanghai accord" to bring tariffs to zero by 2010 for developed countries and 2020 for developing ones.

That would be a reaffirmation of an earlier agreement.

Critics fault APEC for not breaking new ground.

But against the backdrop of September 11, the most important accomplishment of the APEC forum may be that it happened at all.

APEC's full member list is: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand; Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.