Hey there! Did you know that leaders from 21 countries and regions around the Pacific Ocean recently got together to talk about making trade better? Trade is how countries buy and sell things with each other. 🌏
This big meeting is called the APEC Trade Ministers Meeting. It happened on May 15-16 on a beautiful island called Jeju in South Korea.
APEC stands for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. It’s a group that works together to make life better for people in their countries by helping each other trade more easily.
Important people like China’s Vice Minister of Commerce, Li Chenggang, and the U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, met to discuss how to keep trade going smoothly.
They talked about how to make sure all countries can trade fairly and how to connect better with each other. They even chatted about cool things like artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can help make trading easier and smarter! 🤖
They also focused on making trade sustainable. That means making sure that trading doesn’t hurt the environment and helps everyone to have a good future. 🌿
The leaders know that the world economy (that’s all the money and businesses around the world) is facing some challenges. Things like changing rules, disagreements between countries, and supply chains (how products get from one place to another) are making things harder.
An economic report showed that growth might slow down a bit in the next few years. But instead of worrying, they believe that by working together, they can overcome these problems!
Glacer Vasquez, a co-author of the report, said, “Fragmented and reactionary trade policies are becoming the norm.” This means that some countries are making quick decisions that might hurt trading.
But Carlos Kuriyama, a director from APEC, reminded everyone, “This is not the time to retreat behind borders. This is the time to double down on cooperation.”
So what does this mean for you? It means that countries are trying hard to make sure the future is bright, with more opportunities for everyone!
Isn’t it great when countries come together to solve problems? Maybe we can learn from them and work together in our own communities. 😊
Let’s cheer on these leaders as they continue to work together for a better world! 🎉
Reference(s):
APEC Trade Ministers Meeting highlights: Unity amid global uncertainty
cgtn.com
