HONOLULU, United States - The United States and other APEC economies should think in a bold and creative way to advance trade liberalization, tourism and investments to create new economic growth, the US Chamber of Commerce head said here Wednesday.

"Trade is not an optional luxury, but an economic imperative," Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, said in a luncheon address to the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii on the sidelines of the APEC meetings.

"Increased trade can be an antidote to our weak economy and the answer to doubts about American economic leadership at home and abroad. It can create hundreds of thousands of badly needed jobs without a single tax increase, and without adding a dime to the deficit," he said.

Donohue said the United States should try to make it easier for foreign tourists and investors to get visas to bolster the $700-billion American tourism industry that provides 7.4 million jobs nationwide.

To broaden economic ties with China is of significant importance to US companies, and APEC economies should use the 21-member forum to enhance regulatory convergence and reduce barriers in a bid to facilitate trade and investments, Donohue told Xinhua.

A string of APEC meetings, including the most important APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, the APEC Ministerial Meeting, the APEC Finance Ministerial Meeting, the APEC Business Advisory Council and the APEC CEO Summit, is scheduled to be held in Honolulu from Nov 8 to 13.