ENG-2009 — Page 150

102 Commerce and Industry

Hong Kong's external trade was conducted with the other 20 member economies of APEC.

APEC pursues its goal of free and open trade and investment by 2010 for industrialised economies and 2020 for developing economies through work in trade and investment liberalisation, business facilitation, and economic and technical co-operation. Hong Kong participates actively in all three areas, and has committed to pursue the above goal by 2010.

The Pacific Economic Co-operation Council (PECC) is a non-governmental regional forum comprising government officials, business leaders and academics working on policy issues to enhance trade, investment and economic development in the Pacific region. The Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Co-operation, which advises on and co-ordinates the HKSAR's participation in the PECC process, continues to play an active role in PECC's activities.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Hong Kong is an observer in the Trade Committee and the Committee on Financial Markets of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which are important forums for discussions on policy matters in respect of trade and financial services. Ideas introduced in these committees are sometimes followed up in other international organisations such as the WTO and may eventually be translated into binding multilateral agreements or codes.

Regional and Bilateral Trade Agreements

The Government is committed to the primacy of the multilateral trading system under the WTO. That notwithstanding, in response to new trends in world trade, the Government has been seeking to enter into more economic and trade arrangements with trading partners so long as they are in Hong Kong's interests, consistent with WTO provisions, contributive to multilateral trade liberalisation, and can allow more favourable access to overseas markets for Hong Kong goods and services. In November 2009, Hong Kong successfully concluded negotiation of a Closer Economic Partnership Agreement with New Zealand. This is Hong Kong's first free trade agreement with a foreign economy. The Government will continue to pursue trade agreements with other trading partners in Hong Kong's interests.

Liaison with the Mainland and Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement

The Mainland's rapid economic and trade growth has helped boost Hong Kong's external trade and intermediary services, and has facilitated economic and trade co-operation and integration between the two places. The Mainland and Hong Kong signed CEPA in June 2003 to liberalise trade in goods and services, and to facilitate trade and investment between them. The two sides concluded a number of supplements after 2003 to broaden the coverage of CEPA and to deepen the liberalisation measures in different service areas. The latest of these, Supplement VI, was signed in May 2009.

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