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Binding ties beyond business as usual for bright minds

By Alexis Hooi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-12 07:47

As a record number of participants converge in Singapore this week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, a "mini APEC" of sorts is brewing on the sidelines of the top-level meetings.

Special coverage:  17th APEC Leaders' Week Related readings:  APEC opinion leaders: Too soon to mull exit from stimulus  APEC finance ministers meet on growth restoration  APEC 20th Anniversary High-Level Symposium opens in Singapore  APEC seeks post-crisis growth drivers

Chinese student Gao Weihua is a youth delegate of APEC's Voices of the Future (VOF), a weeklong networking program for more than 100 bright minds aged 18 to 25, who hail from 18 of the grouping's 21 members. The program allows the delegates get up close with leaders from business and other sectors attending the forum.

The VOF program is one of the many events complementing the main APEC forum, which is into its 20th year and where leaders from the Asia-Pacific focus on ways to boost trade and investment in the region.

But in the past few days, officials are already speaking of the benefits that APEC has brought that go beyond the usual business talk.

At the APEC Ministerial Meeting welcome reception on Tuesday, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called APEC "regular interactions," which have brought "economies with diverse political, economic and cultural backgrounds together as a trans-Pacific community".

His foreign minister, George Yeo, said at a symposium on the same day that "APEC is the single, most important regional organization. It helps maintain peace in the region.

"That's something we have taken for granted. If we have peace for another generation, this region will be transformed beyond recognition".

During the same event, former Philippine finance secretary Jesus P. Estanislao said APEC has also been good for ASEAN, the regional grouping of Southeast Asian countries.

"APEC has made us more comfortable with one another. It opened doors to discussion of other issues other than trade," Estanislao said.

That is why students and young adults such as the 21-year-old Gao are also the future face of APEC.

As APEC member economies find ways to move beyond the financial crisis and grow together, youths such as Gao are getting to know their contemporaries from other countries and learning that cooperation and understanding - beyond the political and economic, to the cultural and social spheres - remain key for the global community to thrive.

The exposure and experiences that eager young Chinese like Gao receive during exchange programs such as the VOF will be invaluable in their future responsibilities as members of their respective communities.

Amid cooperative efforts like APEC that address challenges at home and abroad, current leaders must recognize and nurture this next generation to ensure that the work being done today is not wasted tomorrow.

The importance of East Asia in the world economy is already set to rise further, with relatively strong growth in China and its Asian neighbors against a slow US economy.

China is also maintaining its active involvement in regional opportunities such as APEC, with its role in such summits poised to deepen.

Broadly, all is being done in line with the authorities' expressed wish to promote the country's moves - enhancing communication with partners over issues of common concern, resolving conflicts peacefully and promoting the world's economy.

"I'm learning on this trip how solutions to the problems of our day are being made," said Gao, who is graduating next year. He intends to earn a doctorate and pursue a career in finance.

"I want to return to China and make a difference."

alexishooi@chinadaily.com.cn