Opening Ceremony of the APEC E-Commerce Fair

Hon. Mr Li Peng, Former Premier of People' Republic of China, Former Chairman of the Standing Committee of National People's Congress.
Hon. Liao Xiaoqui, Vice-Minister of Commerce,
Hon. Mr Han Yuqun, Shandong Provincial Governor,
Hon. Mr Zhou Qi, Mayor of Yantai

It is an honour to be here today at the Opening Ceremony of the APEC E-Commerce Fair. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the people and Municipal Government of Yantai for their warm hospitality and excellent arrangements of this important event. Yantai and Shandong Province are well known as their rich cultural legacy. This region is also the fastest growing area in China. I firmly believe that it is by no means coincidence. Rather, it should be attributable to the unwavering & insightful leadership of Yantai City & Sandhong Province towards open, competitive and prosperous society.

The APEC E-Commerce Fair along with other major APEC events hosted successfully by Yantai certainly demonstrates China's firm commitment and support to advancing the objectives of APEC.

The theme for this Fair "E-APEC, Embrace a Splendid Tomorrow" is quite relevant to the ultimate goals of the APEC process to further enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region towards the realization of the Asia-Pacific community.

APEC has worked to reduce barriers to trade and investment. APEC has worked to create an environment for the safe and efficient movement of goods, services and people across borders in the region through policy alignment and economic and technical cooperation. Indeed, APEC is working to deliver true and tangible benefits to the people of our region.

Congruent with these objectives Chile, the host economy of the 2004 APEC Year, has chosen the central theme of "One Community, Our Future". The central theme is also supported by a series of sub-themes such as: APEC as a catalyst in the multilateral trading system; institutionalization of FTAs and RTAs in APEC; trade facilitation focused on trade and security; development of micro enterprises; and international financial architecture. The theme and sub-themes serve to direct the ongoing activities and outputs of APEC's Working Groups and Forums, including the area of e-commerce.

Thanks to the rapid process of globalization, the role of information and communication technologies has become more and more influential on all areas. E-commerce is an integral part of expanding and taking advantage of economic globalization in our region. There are a number of programs and initiatives that APEC is implementing to deal with the opportunities and challenges that the electronic-commerce revolution brings. E-commerce has become a mainstream activity across many APEC fora, which are collaborating and coordinating to enhance capacity building in times of rapidly changing environment.

In the past years, China has been at the forefront of APEC's e-commerce work. In 2001 China hosted the first APEC E-Commerce High Level Symposium in Beijing; chaired both the e-APEC Task Force and the Electronic Commerce Steering Group; and the e-APEC Strategy was approved by Leaders in Shanghai. APEC Telecommunication Ministers also concluded a cybersecurity strategy in Shanghai in 2002.

I am confident that this Fair will add another important momentum for China's contribution to APEC's developments. I wish all the participants have the opportunity to share their experiences and discuss ideas that are central to e- promote investment and cooperation in e-commerce across the Asia Pacific region.

I also wish that this e-commerce Fair will mark another important milestone for Yantai City's development path towards a "greater, higher and more open society". APEC will certainly support the initiatives of Yantai City and the Chinese Government.

Thank you