President calls for removal of trade barriers (China Daily) Updated: 2005-11-19 06:45
BUSAN: President Hu Jintao on Friday called for global efforts to turn the
Bogor Goals into reality.
"The Bogor Goals set in 1994 constitute a landmark in the building of the
Asia-Pacific Community," Hu said at the 13th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting, which started on Friday.
South Korea's President Roh Moo-hyun (R)
greets China's President Hu Jintao at the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' summit in Pusan, South Korea November 18,
2005. [Reuters]
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Economic leaders from the 21 APEC economies attended the meeting. On top of
its agenda are free trade, combat against terrorism and avian influenza.
"We should not fail to see that not all trade barriers have been removed and
that the evolving world economic situation poses new challenges to the
development of the region," Hu said.
The Bogor Goals, set in Bogor, Indonesia in 1994, specify the APEC objectives
for free and open trade and investment among industrialized members by 2010, and
among developing members by 2020.
"To reach the Bogor Goals on schedule, we must consolidate what we have
achieved so far and make new innovations on that basis to substantiate the
content of co-operation, broaden co-operation channels and enhance co-operation
quality," Hu told his fellow APEC economic leaders.
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