On November 22, 2008, APEC leaders issued a statement on the global economy in Lima, Peru, expressing opposition to all forms of protectionism and pledging to work closely, in a coordinated and comprehensive manner, to implement future actions to cope with the international financial crisis.

The leaders said in the statement that “we have already taken urgent and extraordinary steps to stabilize our financial sectors and strengthen economic growth and promote investment and consumption. We will continue to take such steps, and work closely, in a coordinated and comprehensive manner, to implement future actions to address this crisis.”

They expressed welcome to the Washington Declaration of the leaders of the Group of Twenty at their Summit on Financial Markets and support for the common principles that will guide the Action Plan for financial markets reform. “In this regard, we strongly support the broad policy response needed to restore global economic growth and stability through: closer macroeconomic cooperation; supporting emerging and developing economies; and comprehensively reforming and strengthening the IFIs to reflect the increasing voice and representation of emerging and developing economies.”

They stressed that the current situation highlights the importance of ongoing financial sector reform and the valuable role played by APEC’s financial sector capacity building work. “We welcome continued development and innovation in the financial sector and believe that as financial systems deepen and become more complex, regulatory and supervisory tools must be more effective.”

They warned that “there is a risk that slower world growth could lead to calls for protectionist measures which would only exacerbate the current economic situation”. They agreed to refrain within the next 12 months from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, imposing new export restrictions or implementing World Trade Organization (WTO) inconsistent measures in all areas.

They hope to seek an ambitious and balanced conclusion to the Doha round of negotiations and are committed to reaching agreement on modalities next month on the basis of progress made to date.

The APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting was held from November 22 to 23. At the first stage of the meeting, the leaders mainly discussed the impact of the global financial crisis and the actions APEC members are taking, individually and collectively, to restore confidence in the economies and maintain this region on a path of long-term growth. They especially made the above statement on the global economic issue after the conclusion of the first-stage meeting.

Established in 1989, APEC has 21 members including China, the U.S., Thailand, Australia and Mexico. As the most important regional economic cooperation organization in Asia and Pacific, it has been holding the economic leaders’ meeting annually since 1993.