The China Post
Date: November 8, 2017
By: Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer

DANANG, Vietnam (AP) — Foreign and trade ministers of 21 Pacific Rim economies

Japan’s Foreign Minister Taro Kono, center, attends the opening of the APEC Ministerial Meeting, ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit leaders meetings in the central Vietnamese city of Danang Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. (Hoang Dinh Nam/Pool Photo via AP)

were working Wednesday to reach a consensus on open markets despite the U.S. pushback on “free trade” ahead of summit meetings in Vietnam’s coastal resort city this week.

“The global and regional landscapes are experiencing continued shifts with intertwining opportunities and challenges. Economic recovery is firming but projected growth rates are still below pre-crisis averages,” Vietnam’s Foreign Affairs Minister Pham Binh Minh told the ministers as they sat down to work out details of a declaration the leaders customarily issue at their annual summit.

Many in the region worry over how efforts to boost productivity through automation might affect their own lives. But the host for this summit, Vietnam, is using the occasion to showcase the progress its economy has made thanks largely to opening to foreign investment and trade.    [FULL  STORY]