Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau attended the virtual Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2021 today.

At the virtual meeting, the first ministerial-level meeting of APEC this year, Mr Yau spoke on areas of work which APEC could contribute in conquering the twin battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis.

Speaking at a session on responding to the COVID-19 crisis, he highlighted the value and contributions of trade in ensuring the efficient flow and distribution of vaccines and related goods during the crisis period.

Mr Yau then stressed the importance of restoring cross-border travel as a crucial way to support economic recovery, adding that it is incumbent upon APEC to drive dialogue and encourage policy co-ordination.

He stated that Hong Kong stands ready to collaborate with other APEC member economies in advancing relevant initiatives while balancing public health considerations.

As digital transformation has become a prerequisite to post-COVID recovery, Mr Yau urged member economies to leverage digitalisation to drive structural reforms and reduce business costs.

On free and open trade, Mr Yau called on member economies to support the rules-based multilateral trading system and deepen regional economic integration towards the eventual realisation of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

He added: “Hong Kong is grateful for the positive response of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) participating economies towards Hong Kong's proposed accession, and looks forward to commencing formal dialogues on its early accession when RCEP is ready to take on new partners.”

Before the meeting, Mr Yau joined other APEC trade ministers on June 4 in the APEC Business Advisory Council Dialogue to gauge views from the business sector on regional economic integration, the economic response to COVID-19 and how member economies can be made more resilient to withstand future shocks.