The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, established in 1989, seeks to generate prosperity for the region through inclusive, equitable, sustainable and innovative economic growth.
Since our country’s accession in 1993, the objective has been to expand and diversify economic ties with Asia-Pacific and have a greater economic presence in the world. Today, the Forum has 21 member states, which represent almost 40 percent of the world’s population and almost half of the planet’s trade.
Last week the Annual APEC Leaders Summit was held in San Francisco, California, United States. Before the start of the meeting, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, held two bilateral meetings: one with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and another with his American counterpart Joseph Biden.
During their first meeting, the Mexican president and the Chinese president agreed to give top priority to strengthening their cooperation to confront the impact of Hurricane Otis and help the affected families as soon as possible.
Likewise, the need for both heads of state to exchange information and lessons learned in the fight against illicit trafficking of chemical precursors was highlighted. President Xi welcomed the recent creation of the Mexico-China Working Group on Chemical Precursors and Anti-Narcotics Cooperation.
Regarding global issues, the two Executives agreed on reinforcing multilateralism, international law and cooperation, considering them the best ways to face the challenges of international peace and security; Furthermore, they rejected unilateral actions. Likewise, the leaders reaffirmed the importance of deepening bilateral cooperation in multilateral forums, including that of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
President López Obrador invited his Chinese counterpart to Mexico to learn about the priority projects of the Sonora Plan and the Interoceanic Corridor.
The Chinese president, for his part, indicated that he is willing to work with the Mexican Executive to take relations between both countries to a new level.
On the other hand, during their second meeting, the Mexican president addressed the issue of migration with his American counterpart. He highlighted the positive attitude of his counterpart to open legal avenues to address the phenomenon, with the issuance of work visas under his administration.
Likewise, he reaffirmed the need to continue promoting the development of the people of Central America, South America and the Caribbean, and proposed a comprehensive plan throughout the continent to address the structural causes of this phenomenon.
President Biden, for his part, proposed continuing to look for ways to regularize Hispanic people in his country, in addition to thanking the leadership that his Mexican counterpart has recently shown in the matter, without ignoring that they will continue to move towards safe, orderly migration. , regular and humane.
During the meeting, the economic issue was not left aside, and it was highlighted that in 2022, trade in goods reached a historical maximum of 855 billion dollars, which meant that our country became the largest partner of the United States.
Likewise, they discussed the work that Mexico carries out to prevent the entry into its territory of fentanyl and its chemical precursors, at the same time that President López Obrador ratified his commitment to increase efforts to address the drug epidemic that damages to American society. President Biden did not fail to recognize that his country has to work regarding the trafficking of weapons that reach our country.
Both bilateral meetings not only show the specific weight of Mexico in the previous framework of the APEC Forum, but also in the context of bilateral relations with two leading nations in the world. Our country regains its place and leadership at the international level.
ricardomonreala@yahoo.com.mx
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