APEC Meeting Highlights Trade's Role in Inclusivity and Sustainability, Says Secretary Algernon Yau

Speech by SCED at plenary session of APEC Ministerial Meeting (3)

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, at the plenary session themed "Trade and investment for an inclusive and interconnected growth" at the 35th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting in Lima, Peru, on November 14 (Lima time):

Thank you, Chair.

I would also like to thank the Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for joining us today and sharing the latest developments in Geneva.

Inclusivity and sustainability are key elements that we, as policy makers, ought to take into consideration when deliberating trade rules and initiatives, so as to ensure that we achieve not only economic gains, but also other equally important objectives such as reducing inequality and tackling climate change. APEC and the WTO, being the prominent regional and global trade arena, have already been integrating these elements into their respective work streams. Yet, each of us has to do more to ensure that these efforts at the APEC and WTO levels are translated into tangible benefits to effectively address the pressing challenges of inclusivity and sustainability.

For instance, inclusivity is at the heart of the Agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development in the WTO. We are eager to see its early incorporation into the WTO legal architecture, and encourage APEC, as a leading regional bloc, to push for such in order to fully reap the related benefits for all stakeholders concerned.

Similarly, we urge fellow APEC member economies to accept the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which uses trade rules to achieve sustainability goals, soonest possible, and approach the second-wave negotiations with utmost creativity and flexibility to ensure an early conclusion.

As digitalisation is reshaping our economies, Hong Kong, China (HKC) remains committed to concluding the negotiations of the WTO Agreement on Electronic Commerce in a timely manner and reinvigorating the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, while actively engaging in constructive discussions to seek a permanent solution for the continuation of the e-commerce moratorium.

Over the years, APEC has proposed and implemented numerous innovative and mutually supportive initiatives that complement global trade rules, while addressing the specific needs and dynamics of the Asia-Pacific region such as supply chain disruptions, digitalisation, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and climate change. Some 20 years ago, our business sector, the APEC Business Advisory Council broached the idea of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), and has been looking at different pathways and advising APEC to realise such an idea.

Both the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) serve as crucial pathways towards realising the FTAAP. HKC is actively seeking to join RCEP. We are glad to see the recent adoption of its accession procedures and look forward to launching substantive discussions between RCEP members and HKC. We are more than ready to contribute to this largest free trade agreement of the world as a solid building block in creating a more interconnected region.

Eight years ago, right here in Lima, our Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to realising the FTAAP. Today, HKC remains steadfast in our belief that the FTAAP, when realised, would be a crucial driver of deeper integration and an incubator for trade collaboration in advancing inclusivity, interconnectivity and sustainability. Thanks to Peru for injecting new impetus into the FTAAP agenda this year where all of us have benefitted a lot from the array of activities and discussions. We would like to register our strong support for the "Ichma Statement on a New Look to Advance the FTAAP" so as to renew our collective resolve to this shared vision.

In a world facing unprecedented challenges and uncertainties, I strongly believe that our work under APEC and the WTO will help us build a future that is more resilient, more interconnected and more prosperous for all.

Thank you.

Speech by SCED at plenary session of APEC Ministerial Meeting (2)

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, at the plenary session themed "Sustainable growth for a resilient development" at the 35th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting in Lima, Peru, on November 14 (Lima time):

Thank you, Chair.

I would like to express our appreciation to Peru for its exemplary leadership in taking forward the sustainable development agenda this year. The adoption of the APEC Policy Guidance to Develop and Implement Clean and Low-carbon Hydrogen Policy Frameworks in the Asia-Pacific, as well as the Trujillo Principles for Preventing and Reducing Food Loss and Waste in the Asia-Pacific Region, is very timely, and once again demonstrates APEC's ability in formulating impactful yet pragmatic initiatives that address the environmental challenges of our time.

APEC should continue to take such collaborative spirit to implement these initiatives and advance other areas of co-operation, leveraging the strengths of the institution as well as those of member economies. On the sustainability agenda, Hong Kong, China (HKC) would like to highlight a few priority areas deserving our attention.

First, we should scale up finance and investment in innovation, research and development to support the transition to a green and low-carbon economy. As a leading green financing hub in Asia, HKC is committed to facilitating the transition in the region. Over the past three years, we issued and arranged an average of over US$63 billion in green bonds and debts annually. We have invested substantial resources in building a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem, focusing on key sectors such as new energy and new materials. To foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, we have injected over US$50 million into the Green Tech Fund to provide funding support for research and development projects on decarbonisation technologies. In this connection, HKC recognises the significant progress made by APEC in sustainable finance and investment this year, in particular the launch of the Sustainable Finance Initiative under the APEC Finance Ministers' Process last month. We look forward to sharing our experiences and joining efforts in advancing this important work stream.

Second, we should leverage APEC as a premier platform for promoting capacity building to complement global efforts in addressing environmental challenges. HKC has launched the Strategy of Hydrogen Development domestically earlier this year with concrete actions to seize the opportunities brought about by the hydrogen economy, and is planning to host an APEC capacity building workshop on the application of hydrogen for land transport next year. We look forward to contributing further our experience and capacity-building efforts to the APEC process under the framework of the APEC Policy Guidance and relevant APEC fora.

Last but not least, we strongly believe that we should strengthen APEC's role as an incubator of ideas in developing solutions and pragmatic initiatives that contribute to our sustainability goals. APEC has long been a leader in fostering trade collaboration, particularly in facilitating and liberalising trade in environmental goods and services. Our efforts, most notably the APEC List of Environmental Goods and APEC Reference List of Environmental and Environmentally Related Services, have served as useful reference points in international discussions including in the World Trade Organization. HKC will remain a strong advocate for APEC's efforts on environmental goods and services, recognising their potential as a catalyst for accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy through the power of trade.

As a leading regional economic forum, APEC is the ideal platform to facilitate international co-operation to promote the world's sustainable development. I would like to reaffirm HKC's commitment to collaborating with Peru and member economies to make APEC 2024 a resounding success.

Thank you.