The 14th Trade Ministerial Meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was held in Arequipa, Peru from May 31 to Jun 1, 2008. 21 trade ministers and representatives from the member countries were present at the meeting. The Chinese delegation headed by Minister of Commerce Chen Deming was present as well. The attendees held discussions on many topics, such as the WTO Doha Round Talks, skyrocketing grain price, economic integration of the Asia-Pacific region, trade and investment facilitation, etc. The Separate Statement on Doha Development Agenda of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade and Statement of the Chairman of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade were published at the conclusion of the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister of Peru, the host country, extended, on behalf of the all APEC member, deep condolences to the victims in the Wenchuan Quake. Chen expressed gratitude to them on behalf of the Chinese government and people.

In his speech, Chen pointed out that the Doha Round Talks is at the critical moment and that the WTO members should make final efforts to strive to conclude the talks within this year, so as to contribute to the promotion of global economic development. He said that development is the theme of Doha Round Talks, and this was the first time when the issue of development was placed at the central position by the multilateral trading system over the past 60 years, that the result of the talks should ensure the substantial benefits to the developing members, and China shall promote, as it always did, the Doha Round Talks to reach a successful conclusion at an earlier date.

When talking about the worldwide skyrocketing grain price, Chen said that it has caused a serious impact on global scale. The continued grain crisis counteracted the efforts made by the developing members to eliminate poverty, and even worse, it would postpone the realization of the UN Millennium Development Goals. Therefore, the developed countries should take effective measures to jointly cope with the rise in grain price, including providing grain aid for the developing countries haunted by grain shortage. He pointed out that a successful conclusion of the Doha Round Talks was one of the key factors for solving such a problem. The developed countries have the obligation to reduce by a big margin the trade-contorting vailing, so as to create an even fairer international trading environment, and encourage the grain production growth of the developing countries. He added that China has developed good cooperation and exchanges in terms of increasing grain production with the developing countries in Asia-Pacific, African and Latin American regions, and at present, China is willing to further share the technology and experience of grain production with APEC members.

Chen pointed out that APEC leaders had set up the Bogor Goals in 1994, which aimed to realize trade and investment liberation of the developed and developing countries by 2010 and 2020 respectively. APEC should take it as the basic way of realizing economic integration in Asia-Pacific region.

The Trade Ministerial Meeting is the important meeting of APEC which was held once a year. It aims to thoroughly discuss the significant international and regional economic and trade affairs, exchange opinions, seek for consensus, prepare for the APEC Leaders' Meeting in the latter half of the year. 2008 APEC Leaders' Meeting will be held in Lima, Peru on Nov. 22-23.