APEC official: connectivity should be put on higher agenda

Connectivity is about the future of APEC and should be given a higher priority on the agenda, says Tian Jian, China APEC Senior Offical on Tuesday.

Tian made the remark during the International Symposium on "Connecting the Connectivities in Asia-Pacific", which is held in Yangzhou, China's eastern Jiangsu province.

Tian says that connectivity covers trade, investment, capacity building, and all the missions of APEC. Connectivity comes across both developing countries and developed ones, physical connectivity to people movement, and has great impact on APEC.

He added that China's Belt and Road Initiative is a large contribution from China to global connectivity. The initiative should be jointly built through consultation be in everybody's interest, and efforts should be made to ensure understanding of the countries along the Belt and Road.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the initiative in 2013, which refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt that links China with Europe through central and Western Asia by inland routes, and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road connecting China with Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe by sea routes.

The Symposium in Yangzhou is organized by the China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation, which aims to discuss three aspects of connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region: physical connectivity, institutional connectivity and people-to-people connectivity. Representatives from more than 20 economies of the Asia-Pacific region have participated in this meeting.