APEC summit
Photo: AFP
Like G-8 nations, Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC/Apec) assumes importance for stability of world economy. These countries also are responsible for the negative effects of economic growth at a fast speed. Twenty-one world leaders - including US President George W Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin were attending the APEC meeting for talks on climate change, regional security and free trade held at Sydney, Australia. Several bilateral discussions took place on the sidelines of the APEC forum. Officials from the 21 countries attending the talks agreed to the scope that discussions would take on key issues at the APEC summit. Trade and foreign ministers would conduct further negotiations. Bush was one of the first leaders to arrive in Australia for the forum, followed by Hu. Bush held a preliminary talk with Australia's John Howard. Like issues of climate change and security, product safety was also expected to be on the agenda. Hu had already addressed the issue of the safety of Chinese-made products at his news conference with Howard. China took product safety "very seriously" and was willing to work with the international community to step up quality inspections and examinations, he said. In recent months, Australia, Japan and the US have been strengthening security co-operation, in a move that has worried China. But Howard said there was no hidden agenda. "The trilateral dialogue between Australia, Japan and the US is not directed at anyone, any more than the strategic dialogue I have just announced between Australia and China is not directed at anyone," he said. The USA and Australia would use the APEC opportunity to impress upon China about the need to keep Asia-Pacific region tension free. Australian Prime Minister John Howard urged fellow Asian leaders to find a new way forward on climate change. Speaking ahead of an APEC meeting, Howard said flexible targets should be adopted to cut emissions. Australia and the US are the only industrialised nations not to sign the Kyoto Protocol, arguing that capping greenhouse gases would harm growth. Howard's stance has been criticised by environmentalists. The US-led war on terror has angered the Australians and they were protesting against the war mongers at the APEC summit venue and elsewhere in the country. The Australian government spent A$169m (£68m, $138m) on security for the event over six years, with media dubbing the barrier the "rabble-proof fence". The 5km (three-mile) barrier is intended to protect the 21 leaders attending the meeting from thousands of protesters expected at the summit. Fighter jets and police helicopters patrolled the skies above Sydney, while Australia's navy deployed ships, divers, water police and special forces in Sydney harbour. The recent G-8 summit ended inconclusively on certain core subjects, handing down disillusions to the world. The USA remains the largest polluter of atmosphere, closely followed by China and India and unless these countries reduce carbon emissions, there is very little the world could do to save humanity from dangerous pollution owing to the wrong policies of these countries. One does not know if planned economic development helped countries like Russia to control enormous carbon emission to the atmosphere.
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