Apec's cooperative spirit a plus against challenges to trade

ON Saturday, the leaders of the world's largest and most dynamic trading corridor, joined by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and newcomers such as United States President Donald Trump, will convene in the central Vietnamese port city of Da Nang for their annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders' meeting.

Together, these 21 leaders will attempt to align their ideas for making trade between Apec economies work better in the common pursuit of growth and job creation back home, with enormous implications for their three billion constituents and the rebounding global economy.

For all the stakes, Apec has over the years lived up to its name as a cooperative forum for tough economic issues, enabled by its enduring focus on voluntary, non-legally binding policy prescriptions for easing trade bottlenecks like tariffs, administrative red tape at borders and mismatching standards that raise costs for businesses and consumers. Approaches agreed to by consensus are in turn adopted as the vision for technical coordination among the diverse economies of Apec, which, in all, account for half of global trade and 60 per cent of the world's GDP.