APEC stands for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
Established in 1989, APEC is a forum (gathering or meeting) of member states in the Asia Pacific region that discusses economic issues.
APEC has 21 members (also referred to as economies) including;
- Australia
- Brunei Darussalam
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Hong Kong
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Republic of Korea
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Papua New Guinea
- Peru
- The Philippines
- Russia
- Singapore
- Chinese Taipei
- Thailand
- The United States
- Vietnam
Most of the members joined the forum in 1989, though some joined later in 1991, 1993, 1994. Peru, Russia and Vietnam were the last members to join in 1998.
How does APEC operate?
APEC promotes dialogue between its members and APEC members report progress towards their own investment and trade goals through Individual Action Plans (IAPs) and Collective Action Plans (CAPs).
Each year, APEC members contribute monies to fund the forum’s activities. APEC delivers a number of projects, primarily focused on transferring knowledge and skills between member economies.
Each year, one of the member economies of APEC is made the host economy and serves as the APEC chair. The host economy of the year is responsible for hosting meetings, including an annual Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
How important is APEC in the region and in the wider scheme of things?
APEC is recognised as one of the oldest forums in the Asia-Pacific region and it is able to exert a significant global influence.
Growth has increased significantly in the region and APEC has helped to lift millions out of poverty in less than three decades. The forum has reduced trade barriers and continues to implement many different initiatives to help the economies in the region.
In recent years though, APEC has been somewhat less effective due to deep divisions between the United States and China over trade and investment cooperation. In 2018, the leaders at the APEC summit in Papua New Guinea failed to agree on a communique (an official statement) for the first time in their history.
The 2019 APEC Summit was due to take place in Chile but was canceled due to protests in the country.
