On November 13, 2010, President Hu Jintao delivered an important speech when attending the APEC CEO Summit in Yokohama, Japan. He pointed out that China’s interest has been converged with that of the world in the course of economic globalization. The more developed China is, the more opportunities and contributions it brings to the world. China expects to join hands with all countries to plan and build a better future for mankind.

The CEO Summit was held in Yokohama Royal Park Hotel where Hu stayed. In the conference room, there was no single seat left empty. At 11:00 local time, Hu Jintao, accompanied by Chairman of Japan Federation of Economic Organizations Hiromasa Yonekura, stepped into the conference room. Yonekura invited Hu to make a speech. All the audiences applauded warmly.

Hu delivered an important speech entitled Sharing Development and Prosperity amid enthusiastic applauses. He pointed out that the development and future direction of Asia Pacific where a large number of emerging markets concentrate has a big influence on the region and the world at large. The CEO Summit which will focus on the theme of emerging markets in Asia Pacific has great realistic significance.

First, emerging markets in Asia Pacific make great contributions to world development and will continue to create huge development opportunities. Emerging markets in the region grow rapidly and have made critical contributions to narrowing the development gap, reducing the poor population and achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). They take an active part in international trade and economic cooperation, provide rich resources for other countries’ development, supply abundant goods to countries worldwide, create markets and drive world economic growth and serve as important destinations of international capital flow. In terms of resources, products, market and capital, they will bring about more opportunities for world economic growth.

Second, emerging markets in Asia Pacific grow quickly but still face numerous tough challenges. Emerging markets in the region in general face the arduous tasks of growing economy and improving people’s livelihood, the unprecedented processes of industrialization, urbanization and modernization, serious challenges of promoting harmonious rural-urban, regional and economic-social development and pressing issues of system improvement and innovative capacity enhancement. They still have a long way to go and need to work hard to achieve all-round development.

Third, emerging markets in Asia Pacific cope with global challenges actively and their international responsibilities should match their development stages. As important members of the international community, emerging markets in Asia Pacific play an active and constructive role in the international cooperation and South-South cooperation and have contributed to advancing the international development undertaking and common development in the world. Meanwhile, they themselves are still in the primary stage of development. To ask them to undertake responsibilities and obligations beyond their capacity and development stages will help neither international cooperation nor world economic development and on the contrary will harm their own growth.

Fourth, the international community should improve the international economic and financial system and create a sound environment for the common development of emerging markets in Asia Pacific and other countries in the world. The international community should gradually establish a fair, just, inclusive and orderly international financial order through reasonable reform and readjustment; oppose various forms of protectionism and achieve the goals of the development round at an early date; take more tangible actions on the development issues in order to realize the UN MDGs as scheduled.

He noted that China, with ever increasing economic power after more than 30 years of reform and opening-up, has become an important member of emerging markets. China still has to work hard for a long period of time in order to realize modernization. China will unswervingly pursue the road of peaceful development, combine its own development with the prosperity of all countries in the world and boost common development. The business communities in Asia Pacific are welcomed to actively participate in China’s reform and opening-up process so as to share the opportunities created by and the outcomes of China’s prosperity and progress.

Yonekura made remarks following Hu. On behalf of all the participants, he thanked Hu for his interesting speech. He expressed hope that China maintains its strong economic growth and contributes to the economic prosperity of Asia Pacific and the entire world.

Ling Jihua, Wang Huning and Dai Bingguo were also present at the event.

The APEC CEO Summit is an important forum held during the APEC annual meeting. The two-day CEO Summit this year opened on November 12 and was attended by over 1,000 business personages from Asia Pacific. Nearly 1,000 audiences listened to President Hu’s speech.