China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the successful outcome of the Doha Ministerial Meeting will add new momentum to the further liberalisation of trade and services, promote closer economic interdependence among economies, and speed up the process of globalisation, said Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa at the opening ceremony of the 14th General Meeting of the Pacific Economic Co-operation Council (PECC) .

The meeting which took place in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre was attended by 1,000 delegates from 25 countries.

“The rapid advances of IT and the increased efficiency in transport and logistic networks have brought the world much closer together,” Mr Tung said.

He further added that Hong Kong’s competitive advantages will continue to strengthen, maintaining its status as the financial and logistics hub in Asia.

He said the government has set four tasks to achieve this goal – to invest in human capital, to upgrade hard and soft infrastructure, to make the city even more business-friendly to encourage foreign and mainland companies to come to Hong Kong to set up offices and regional headquarters, and to improve the environment.

Speakers at the PECC meeting stressed the urgency of better managing the globalisation process so that its benefits were spread more evenly. Chairman of one of Hong Kong’s largest trading companies Li & Fung, Dr. Victor Fung spoke on the Pacific
Response to Globalisation. “For Asian economies to compete globally, we must use the Hong Kong example of quick response, shorter manufacturing cycles and global connectivity.” He added that it was important for small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong and Asia to move towards globalisation with the help of information technology and Internet infrastructure because about 30 per cent of more than 350,000 SMEs are doing business with two or more economies.

Former US trade representative Charlene Barshefsky spoke on the Impact of China’s WTO Membership. “As a WTO member, China will for the first time, have power to shape the system to fit its own interests. This will pose new questions and challenges for the US, Japan and Asean countries but these strike me as questions we can cope with.”

Ms Barshefsky was hopeful about the future development of the global political and economic environment. “I, for one, tend to look ahead with some optimism for China, for the US and for the global community.”

Other speakers at PECC included Professor of Economics and International Affairs in Princeton University, Paul Krugman and China’s Chief Representative for Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Long Yongtu.