12 Economic Leaders*, some 1200 delegates and nearly 600 Chairpersons and CEOs attended the 2008 interactive event.
The 2008 APEC CEO Summit concluded with a strong appeal for joint action to deal with the global financial crisis and to facilitate trade liberalization, emphasizing the need to restore confidence and prevent protectionism.
Chinese President Hu Jintao urged the APEC business community to play "an important role" in tackling the ongoing financial crisis and reaffirmed that the business community is a major player in promoting world economic development as well as sound and stable international economic and trade relations.
U.S. President George W. Bush called on world economies to keep markets open and reject protectionism to overcome the global financial storm ("maintaining the power of free market"), adding that rebuilding confidence is the only way to regain strength and sustain economic growth in the region and the world.
The Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, called for joint action by the economies and businesses of the Asia-Pacific region, to address the consequences of the current global financial crisis. "Amid the global crisis, we must not neglect important issues like human security, preservation of peace and prosperity, as well as climate change," he said. The Australian Leader held the view that the effects of the global financial crisis will be more severely felt in 2009, in both developed and emerging economies and therefore urged the Asia-Pacific region Leaders to not just talk about solutions, but also to act effectively both nationally and internationally, to prevent a worsening of the world economy. Rudd also praised the efforts of the G-20 in Washington DC (United States) to find solutions to the international economic crisis.
The Economic Leader of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, said that the way to face this crisis is with joint global answers and avoiding protectionism. She went on to show how the Chilean economy is in better condition than in previous years to face the financial international crisis. "We have a solid macro economy, an almost inexistent foreign debt, large reserves, a healthy financial system and we have made decisions as a Government to guarantee bank liquidity", she said. She welcomed the fact that during the November G-20 meeting more influence was given to emerging countries not directly responsible for the origins of the crisis. She also warned during her speech that the "worst" thing that could happen in this crisis is to let protectionism grow; accordingly she considered the progress of the Doha Round negotiations "a must". Bachelet also noted that some additional economies in the Asia-Pacific region - including Peru, the United States and Australia - may be joining the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement, best known as P4, which includes Chile, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore; and remarked that this could become the basis for a future Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific among all 21 APEC Member Economies.
President Alan Garcia, of Peru, emphasized the need for governments and the private sector to work together to confront the current economic and financial crisis, saying that this was a crisis resulting from the speed of development and wealth creation in the world, and thus could and should be taken as an opportunity for APEC economies to learn and to advance on the path of more even and open economic development. The APEC system is the most effective tool to deal with the crisis successfully, he said.
