Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) was established in 1989 in
response to the growing interdependence among Asia-Pacific economies.
Today APEC has 21 member economies -- Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile,
China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam. These 21 economies has a combined population of some 2.5 billion and combined gross domestic product of over US$18 trillion in 1999.
Though China was not the founding member, it has actively involved in
the events organized by APEC since it became a member in 1991. In 2001
China was also responsible for hosting APEC annual meeting and the theme of it was "Meeting New Challenges in the New Century".
China keeps close economic ties with APEC members. Since 1991 China's
trade with other APEC members has accounted for over 70 percent of its
total foreign trade, and more than 60 percent of overseas direct
investment in China came from APEC members.
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