China's efforts to energize APEC economies

Business leaders from China are confident that the country's efforts to create a more open and free environment for businesses would boost economic prospects in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Chinese delegation to the 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, which has more than 300 members from 176 enterprises, both State-owned and private, is the largest apart from the host delegation. Among these, 18 are global Fortune 500 companies and 24 are among the Top 500 in China.

"They are the representatives of the country's sound economic development," said Sun Xiao, a leader of the Chinese delegation and director of the department of cooperation and development at the China Chamber of International Commerce.

"It also indicates that they are actively participating in Asia-Pacific trade and economic cooperation and global economic governance," said Sun.

The APEC CEO Summit is usually held before the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, which is a business event of the highest level in the Asia-Pacific region. The summit provides business executives a platform to discuss important topics in global economic governance with leaders from APEC economies.

This year, the three-day APEC CEO Summit started on Nov 8 in the Vietnamese coastal city of Da Nang, with a theme of "Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future". It includes sessions on "the future of globalization", "the future of work" and "connecting growth".

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump will address the summit and have further interactions with the business community on Friday.

"Chinese delegates are looking forward to President Xi's speech, his first to the business community after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China," Sun said.

"APEC probably is the best framework for the business community to get involved in global economic governance and for making global economic and trade rules," he said, adding that business executives will have a chance to gauge the leaders' attitude and perspectives on regional development, as well as submit policy suggestions to the APEC leaders through the advisory council scheme.

Chinese business leaders have submitted suggestions in sectors like green and low-carbon energy, infrastructure investment, and cross-border e-commerce.