what is apec summit

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. APEC was established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region and promote trade, investment, and economic development among nations around the Pacific Ocean. The group started with 12 members in 1989, but has since grown to 21, including China, Russia, Japan, the U.S., and Australia. The APEC forum operates as a cooperative, multilateral economic and trade forum, where member economies participate on the basis of open dialogue and respect for views of all participants. In APEC, all economies have an equal say, and decision-making is reached by consensus. There are no binding commitments or treaty obligations, and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis. The APEC summit is an annual meeting of APEC member economies, where representatives from all member economies attend. The first four annual meetings were attended by ministerial-level officials. Beginning in 1993, the annual meetings are named APEC Economic Leaders Meetings and are attended by the heads of government from all member economies except Taiwan, which is represented by a ministerial-level official. The APEC summit is a forum to promote trade, investment, and economic development among nations around the Pacific Ocean.