The APEC meeting in Suzhou is a key point to reaffirm multilateral rules prior to the leaders’ meeting

The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers’ meeting in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, convenes at a critical time when many businesses and organizations fear that the rules governing the global trading environment are fraying. The fears have been compounded by the unrest in the Strait of Hormuz, which has exposed the fragility of international rules and the vulnerability of global supply chains.

With its focus on major economic and trade issues in the Asia-Pacific, the meeting in Suzhou on Friday and Saturday is an important part of this year’s APEC cooperation process and provides a platform for determined action to support the multilateral trading system based on the World Trade Organization rules.

The trade ministers’ meeting aligns with the theme of the APEC “China Year”, “Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together”, which emphasizes openness, innovation and cooperation.

According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, the major focus of the APEC trade ministers’ meeting in Suzhou is on strengthening regional cooperation amid slowing global growth and increasing trade uncertainty. Such regional cooperation can provide a counterbalance to the disruptions in the trade environment.

The Suzhou meeting is a key decision point, allowing the APEC middle powers and smaller economies in the Global South to focus on supporting the basis of international trade. Reaffirmation of a common unity and determined support for multilateral solutions in preference to unilateral action will send a message to those forces that are disrupting global trade. The proposals from the Suzhou meeting will help set the agenda for the future of trade relations within the APEC region.

The catalyst for distraction is the security of oil and product supply chains from the Middle East. Although the media focus is on oil supplies, the impact of the obstructions in the Strait of Hormuz is far more diverse, including disruptions to the supply of agricultural fertilizer, the feedstocks for the production of plastics and the specialist gases required for semiconductors and other industries.

These are important supplies whose disruption has the potential to trigger social dislocation, but it is important that they do not detract from the strategic issues that the APEC meeting in Suzhou also needs to consider. These include a cluster of trade development issues and the broader question of support for the international trade environment.

Li Chenggang, China international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce and vice-commerce minister, highlighted this strategic task when he noted that China will work with all APEC members to promote consensus on building an open and predictable regional and multilateral economic and trade order.

The emphasis on an “open, predictable and multilateral economic and trade order” provides the basic logic for the Suzhou meeting. Reaching consensus on this objective would further enhance the status of APEC.

Consensus would signal a commitment to supporting multilateral solutions and rejecting unilateral diktat. Such consensus would explicitly deny arbitrary orders or settlements imposed by a superior authority which are typically without negotiation or consent.

It is this multilateral framework that will enable and empower the trade ministers’ discussions on deepening cooperation in emerging sectors including the digital economy, green development and supply-chain resilience. These objectives are only achievable by creating a more open, stable and predictable trade environment.

Support for these objectives is consistent with China’s long-term support for the authority of the United Nations, as demonstrated by the four global initiatives that China has put forward.

These initiatives are designed to help reform the international governance systems and promote a community with a shared future. They address global challenges through cooperation, development, and enhanced multilateralism with the UN at the center. APEC is consistent with these proposals because it strengthens regional economic and trade cooperation amid slowing global growth and increasing trade uncertainty.

These global objectives can be placed within a regional context via the Suzhou meeting, which is expected to help push forward regional economic integration and reinforce support for the rules-based multilateral trading system.

In the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and digital economy, it is essential that trade ministers consider ways to enhance digital cooperation, which goes hand-in-hand with the development of the green economy.

APEC has a record of introducing practical measures that boost economic productivity. The Suzhou meeting can consider policy proposals including the wider and coordinated use of electronic bills of lading and digital port networks. Standardization in these areas would improve port and trade efficiency with faster customs clearances and shipping processes.

Moreover, one of APEC’s most important gatherings of the year can prove decisive by reaching a key consensus to observe multilateral unity and reject the path of balkanization and fragmented self-interest.

As a member economy of APEC, Australia places great importance on the stable and positive trade performance with other APEC economies. In 2024, bilateral trade in goods between China and Australia reached $211.27 billion, marking an 85.6 percent increase from 2015, and accounting for 24 percent of Australia’s total foreign trade.

According to the “China Business Environment Brief” released by the China-Australia Chamber of Commerce, 70 percent of Australian companies view China as their top investment destination, with half planning to expand their presence there. China’s vast market of 1.4 billion people, with a growing middle-income group, has a strong demand for high-quality Australian food, health products and services. This is a “big pond” that no forward-thinking business can afford to overlook.

The APEC trade ministers’ meeting in Suzhou presents a fresh opportunity for China-Australia cooperation. In the future, there can be deeper collaboration in optimizing trade structures and promoting trade diversification, fully leveraging the APEC cooperation mechanism to inject lasting vitality into the economic prosperity and stability of the Asia-Pacific region.

The author is an international financial technical analysis expert and a former national board member at the Australia China Business Council.

The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.