APEC’s good intentions: Building bridges, not walls between economies in crisis
Vladivostok (AsiaNews /
Agencies) - The two-day meeting between the leaders of the 21 countries of the
two shores of the Pacific, ended yesterday with many good intentions for the
immediate future, promising to "build bridges, not walls" between the
economies in crisis.
New
Zealand Prime Minister John
Key, said: "There is a feeling that the world economy is fragile ... but
there is the confidence that we can do it."
The
APEC meeting took place in Russia,
on a small island off the coast of Vladivostok.
All
countries expressed concern about the European crisis that is affecting their
economies, as well as the difficulties of the U.S. crisis, marked by almost zero growth.
For
this reason APEC has decided to further liberalize trade between group members,
but beyond promises there seems to be no concrete decisions: the U.S. is raising taxes on many exports, China's economy
is full of monopolies; there are signs of protectionism everywhere. A
further sign of fragility of these good intentions is the ongoing tensions over
the disputed sovereignty of regional islands contested by Japan, South Korea,
China, Vietnam, Brunei,
Malaysia,
etc. .. motivated
by the desire to secure access to raw materials (possible underwater deposits),
rich fisheries and the control of trade routes.
Despite
the concerns, APEC praised the efforts of Europe
to cope with the crisis, especially after the European Central Bank decided on
the unlimited purchase of bonds. Christine
Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, said she was interested in
playing a role in the operation.
A
further boost was given to the economy of the region by Chinese President Hu
Jintao's promise to invest 157 billion U.S. dollars in infrastructure, agriculture,
energy, railways and roads. Russia
has signed an agreement with Japan
to the tune of 7 billion U.S. dollars for the construction of a plant for
liquid gas near the islands of Japan.
Everyone
agrees that there should be no protectionism especially in the export of food,
after reports on scare crops, caused by drought and bad weather. But
no one has discussed prices, which has in the past led to speculation on hunger
of the people.
Among
other agreements, tax cuts - by 2015 - 54 on the export of goods and environmental
projects such as renewable energy plants, waste treatment, environmental
control.
The
next annual meeting will take place on the island
of Bali (Indonesia). APEC
collects about 40% of the world population, 54% of the economy of the planet
and 44% of the global market.
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