Addressing the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting being held in Santiago, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said there is no topic bigger than peace and no human rights more important than security in the world.

Li said that APEC has adopted a series of joint actions to crack down on terrorism and promote capacity building amongst member economies.

As to the fight against corruption, Li said the government pays great attention to the issue, supports international cooperation and commends the anti-corruption action plan adopted by APEC.

China is ready to conduct pragmatic cooperation and share information and experience with other APEC members on the issue to help create a just and transparent environment for economic and social development in the Asian-Pacific region.

Meanwhile, Assistant Commerce Minister Yi Xiaozhun said at the meeting that APEC trade ministers had reached an agreement in June in Pucon, Chile, to voice common support for the resumption of the WTO Doha Round talks.

The action greatly contributed to the signing of a WTO framework deal in the following month and China will continue supporting APEC's contribution to the WTO talks, said the official.
 
Yi also said China hopes the Doha Round, called a "development round," will give more attention to the demands of developing members.

He urged all parties involved to create favorable conditions for the conclusion of the talks.

The 16th APEC ministerial meeting, which was held prior to the APEC informal leadership meeting, ended in Santiago on Thursday with the signing of a joint statement, pledging more efforts in trade facilitation, human security, sustainable development and macroeconomic stability.

As a major part of APEC's decision-making process, the annual ministerial meeting of foreign and economic/trade ministers takes stock of the year's activities to provide recommendations for the leaders' meeting.

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2004)