also regionally within eas, as well as within apec with 20 members in apec, 20 other members in apec, and also with the other asean members. and then finally, he goes to brisbane for a global agenda. so i think in this, about seven or eight gruelling trip the president, the secretary, others will have a chance, really, to press forward and engage the region in a lot of issues across the board, from economics to politics, security, and so on. so i think it's already starting out, i think to be a very good year at least in terms of our engagement with the region. so, but in terms of the substance of apec itself, in terms of 2014, working with china, and with the other essentially 20 other apec economies, i would say at least from my perspective seriously it is a good year. all that here from the usgr talk a little bit more about the trade investment facets of apec and what apec has been doing this year. and i will focus on talking about essentially our work in trying to promote sustainable development and sustainable growth in apec, as well as our work in trying to increase regional con

apec is a contributor. it does things like capacity building, information sharing on existing and ongoing rtas and ftas. it's done analysis in the past. but what it's not is a negotiation body. and i think our expectation is that apec will remain as a contributor. and that should be what happens actually at the leaders meeting. >> on the construction question, in terms of connectivity blueprint, the key thing now is to note is that as you know adp study had indicated that just about $8 trillion worth of sort of demand for construction infrastructure construction in the region in asia, and our view is that in the final analysis the private sector really will have to step in to invest in to actually build the infrastructure, whether it's power stations or railroads or ports, whatnot. so what we're doing within apec, led by australia, by the way, is to actually create a pilot center. right now it's been created in jakarta, but we're trying to expand it to different areas, where working abec, as well, is to pro

apec is a contributor as it is put into the incubator for the allied. apec is not a negotiation.we need to have -- we need to understand the creative distinction on that. but as we mentioned, there is a debate whether we call on the study. we have the combination to be allies. >> i would also note that it has been the area in the pacific has been a commonly agreed political goal and i think as far back as the city in 2006 if i remember right. if he were here he would correct me. he's been a long-standing political goal and in my mind it is consistent with the rules in many ways and represents a important desperation. he had to be determined as the is the panelists subset but i do think it's important to recognize china's emphasis on if cat is fully consistent with the leaders meetings at least in the past six or seven years. other questions? esser thank you. >> good morning thank you. scott mcdonald united states strategic group. leading off of that comment and stepping backwards our architecture, how does tpp through aipac held we step back and use these structures in order to b

president obama after the apec economic leader summit. it's expected the two leaders will have a frank exchange of opinions. another issue is the frosty relationship between china and japan. japanese prime minister shinzo abe has yet to meet with chinese leader since taking office in 2012. abe has said he would prefer meeting without any preconditions. but china feels talks would be pointless unless abe expresses a willingness to compromise. chinese leaders have also been challenged by pro-democratic protesters in hong kong. a standoff of about three weeks of election reform is making some nations concerned. but still, china's leaders are determined to make apec successful. associate professor gui yyongtao expects that china will make concerted efforts to prevent heated discussions at this meeting. >> we want all parties to this summit to contribute to a positive mood of this meeting and china, i guess, would not like any parties to sort of raise particular difficult issues that cannot be solved on a particular occasion or meeting. >> rep

he held a uh news conference after the apec meeting and said there is a massive short fall of money for funding infrastructure in the asia pacific. he said nobody brought up the issue at the meeting though they are aware of it. >> it would compliment the world bank and asian development bank. officials welcome the idea. >> sources say araengsment where is r made for nations supporting the proposal to exchange memorandums of proposal in beijing. japanese government officials have said they will not participate. they have expressed doubts about the transparency of management. let's check on markets now. investors on wall street worried by shootings in ottawa and another fall in oil prices. u.s. stock prices ended the day lower. the blue chip dow jones shed nearly 1%. now an update on how investors in japanese shares are reacting. he's standing by at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. what can you tell snus. >> good morning. it looks like the nikkei and topix are following the down figures. let's talk about how they are opening now. both indexes down. the nikkei down three-quarters of

45% across that -- across all of the economies of apec. by 2035 based on 2005 levels, doubling the share of renewable energy in the apec economies energy mix by 2030. and collaborating on the phaseout of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. in the international energy agency, which counts as its members -- among its members several asian -- important asian partners, the membership of the iaea has been seeking to increase our engagement with other nonmember countries across as asia. one particular example that i would give in this context are the conversations about a new form of a nonmember affiliation between iea and some key partners including china and india. this is the idea still under development of an association relationship between those nonmembers and iea. this is motivated by our general sense, again, that the dynamism in the asian energy context is one that calls for significantly increased gaengagements. we are also working bilaterally with important partners all across asia. i will not, in view of time, go into details here. i

apec participants are discussing the economic outlook for the region, and how to boost investment in infrastructure development. japanese finance minister taro aso will explain how the country is trying to rebuild its finances, and get the economy growing again. he's the first japanese finance minister to attend the annual meeting in four years. aso apparently hopes that will lay the groundwork for a meeting between prime minister shinzo abe and chinese leaders on the sidelines of the apec summit next month. >>> japanese business people are showing off their company's products in baghdad, and that is despite worsening security there. about 20 japanese firms and organizations are taking part in iraq's largest trade show, the baghdad international fair. the number is down 30% from last year due to advances by islamic state militants. that hasn't stopped many at the show, though, from betting on future opportunities. >> translator: i hope the new government will do something to improve the safety situation. you can't even do business here without body armor. >> company representatives p

there are two roles of apec. in australia, also, that's a very key topic is the investment in the infrastructure. we really hope this year we can make tangible progress in the infrastructure progress. and now regarding that, it's the infrastructure stability. and both the u.s. and china support that. and we hope to make it global money for investment in infrastructure, and it can be strengthened. and china has that proposal to establish an asian investment in the infrastructure. also, australia will give a proposal to establish a center to promote infrastructure development. those proposals connect the investment infrastructure. we realize there's a big gap between the infrastructure development and financial supply to support infrastructure development. we hope there will be big progress this year to be made. but we also understand the policy communication is also very important. >> great. i'm tempted to go on, but we have such a distinguished audience, i want to give them a chance to speak. just to recap the gr

wang was briefing them on the upcoming apec meeting. foreign media asked him about the possibility of a japan/china summit. >> translator: it is a fact that the two countries have issues and obstacles affecting the development of their relations. we cannot evade that. i hope that japan's leaders will focus on those issues and address them sincerely. >> wang apparently wants japan to make concessions on its perception of history and over its stance on the senkaku islands in the east china sea. japan controls the islands. the japanese government maintains they are a part of japan's territory. china and taiwan claim them. the japanese government says there is no issue of territorial sovereignty to be resolved, concerning the senkaku islands. >>> a hong kong assembly member has been criticizing the chief executive of the territory as pro-democracy protests continue. a key chinese government advisory body has now expelled james tien. he told reporters last week that the chief executive should consider resigning. local media said it was the f

shinzo abe and russian president vladimir putin have agreed to meet on the sidelines of next month's apec summit in beijing. abe talked on the phone with putin on tuesday to congratulate him on his 62nd birthday. last month, putin called abe on the occasion of his 60th birthday. abe said he hopes to use his friendship with putin to launch dialogue on all levels towards strengthening ties. the leaders exchanged views on the conflict in ukraine. abe likely called on putin to do more for a peaceful resolution. >>> u.s.-led forces have launched more air strikes to stop another offensive by fighters with islamic state. they've targeted sites in a syrian town near the turkish border. the militants have been locked in a battle with kurdish forces. they said the islamic state flags were flying over a hill and a building there. they've been fighting the kurds in the streets. turkish president said air strikes will not be enough and warned the town it's about to fall. >> translator: this problem cannot be resolved via air strikes without cooperating with those fighting on the ground. >> more than 1

. >> pritzker says she hopes that summit meetings at the apec forum will help push forward the negotiations. >>> official at the european union are telling bankers to mend their ways. they are handing down fines totaling more than $120 million to three banks for rig a key interest rate. the officials say u.s. banking giant j.p. morgan and ubs and credit suisse manipulated the prices of derivatives and libor. that's the interbank lending rate on the london market. european regulators in december handed out fines totally more than $2 billion to six other financial institutions for their role in the scandal. >>> executives at some of japan's small firms are adopting a new approach to solving their labor shortage. they say more and more graduates are declining job offers under influence of their parents and aspiring to work at a larger corporation. so now the executives are make the hiring process a family affair. >> reporter: this venture firm designs and creates store signs. it currently employs 70 people. to expand its business further the firm gave 17 young job applicants offers for work th

and abe is holding direct talks with chinese president xi jinping next month on the sidelines of an apec summit. but opposition party leaders say the prime minister must first address the cabinet resignations. they want him to explain himself in front of lawmakers in the diet. >> translator: it's extraordinary to have two ministers quitting in one day. the prime minister should be asked to take responsibility for appointing them. >> reporter: abe is seeking the support of the japanese public for his policy agenda. he'll need to make a quick recovery from the shock of the resignations to keep up the trust. tomoko kamata, nhk world. >>> officials from a record 155 countries are calling for an end to nuclear weapons. they've come out in support of a u.n. statement on disarmament. officials from japan signed on for the second straight year. new zealand's ambassador for disarmament presented the statement at a general assembly committee meet being. it's the fifth such document to be presented to the committee. >> it is in the interest of the very survival of humanity that nuclear weapons are

with his help, we organized the apec center. and the g-20 also, g-7. i appreciate this working relationship with the peterson institute. and professor, a long-term relation for his contribution to promote the u.s.-china relations. we appreciate your contribution very much. you contribute to the global efforts. i deal with you and others. so next year the paris meeting should be successful. and the world bank. and your contribution to the development, we will all remember that. and many from here, and media friends, i hope that we can have candid discussions, to discuss the real situations, the global economic challenges that we face. and also the political challenges we face together. i want to report to you how we evaluate current economic situations. everybody knows just two days before the global forecast of the 2014, from july 3.4 to 3.3%. and that's a continual downgrade. so many times we change the forecast for 2014. but it really reflects the economic situation now. and we say after six years, the momentum has broken. the international crisis, r

we have been hearing it every time we come together for an apec meeting. i wouldn't hazard a guess of when we are going to get it. how long it's going to take. very different type of economies. one large. the world's largest economy and a small island state. it took a long time to get a bilateral free trade agreement just between two countries. can you imagine the complexity of 12 countries including the world's third largest economy. including countries like vietnam that had to make significant economic changes. canada, mexico. covering 40% of the world gdp and not just trying to get an agreement among that u be bilateral agreements among each one as well. you look at the complexity of that. you can understand why it's taking some time to make sure we get a good agreement. when you want to have a 21st century agreement that's what the expectation is. we have to make sure what we get is something that is useful for everybody that makes sense. you need to give the negotiators a bit of room rather than deadline after deadline, november after november. they a

china is hosting the apec summit, attended by president obama. they don't want this going on in their backyard. >> the clock is ticking. we have seen police moving barricades, are they trying to push the protesters out or back? >> i think it was a symbolic moment. until now, police have not been able to drive into the complex. certainly the police seem to be able to enter the building at will. the number of protesters are fewer. gradually we are approaching an end game. >> have university officials played a role in getting the students back or away from the streets? >> they have made the vice-chancellor, the most senior academic in hong kong appeal to the students to go back to their classes. he said "look, you have international attention, you have made your point, it's not worth dying for", church leaders weighed in, as well as officials from both sides of the legislature. there has been these appeals. there's a hard core of student not prepared to leave. they say the disruption they caused has been worth it, in pursuit of their ideal. let's re

the president is going to beijing in november to meet with president xi and others, and apec leaders. you have tax reform. both of those are republican issues. i think you have a window. will it be easy? no. it's the right policy, right politics and the right thing to do for the country. >> we have a minute left. can we agree that republicans should they take over congress have a vested interest this doing something? >> we have to demonstrate an ability to govern the way president obama has to reach out and start building relationships, even at this late tame, not just with democrats but with republicans. >> there are two chapters to the next experience, one is the lame duck session and then the new congress and both of those are opportunities for president obama. >> we have 15 seconds. >> the new congress, if it does change, has got to show a willingness to compromise. not just say we're going to pass what we can pass because we have a majority but work with the white house. work with the president before they put that bill on the floor. >> the republicans are not going to have 60 vo

panel today on -- as we talk about asian architecture ahead of the three summits in november, the apec, eas and g-20 summits. we have a terrific panel with us today. i really appreciate these gentlemen sharing their time away from very busy schedules to join us. on my right, we have the newly ensconced david shear who is our assistant secretary of defense for east asia and the pacific. you know that david was -- had come back from hanoi to do this job. he was our u.s. ambassador there. david is an expert on china and southeast asia. i think for many of us who are sort of in the trenches every day on these issues, couldn't think of a better person for the pentagon to put into this role. next to him is one of the top southeast asianists in the united states. and he also is singapore's ambassador to the united states, ashok mirpuri. he was most recently singapore's ambassador to indonesia. he has been singapore's ambassador to australia and kuala lumpur and has a long career in the singapore ministry of foreign affairs working on asia-related affairs. finally, a good friend and a real her

been helping governments around the world and consortiums of regional groupings, countries such as apec, asean and the organization of islamic cooperation, look at how can they begin to adopt more sensible and inclusive travel facilitation policies, including visa waiver where appropriate, so that they can compete at a higher level? now, other countries are certainly on this track. canada allowed the czech republic to enter canada visa waiver in 2007, arrivals increased 36% to canada from czech republic in the following years. russia opened up to hong kong in 2009. the volume of arrivals to russian federation from hong kong, china, jumped 184% in the following three years. so we can then with this background ask ourselves what would happen if the visa waiver program were reversed or curtailed? you could reasonably assume that it would be the opposite of the benefits that were realized when it was introduced but there are also case studies of what has happened when countries have perhaps ill-advisedly restated visa requirements. and there are a few examples of this. canada renewed the vi

and last panel today as we talk about asian architecture ahead of the three summits in november, the apec, eas comanche 20 summits. and we have done a terrific panel with us today. there really appreciate these gentlemen sharing their time away from very busy schedules to join us. on my right we have the newly ensconced at davis year who is our assistant secretary of defense for east asian and pacific. you know that david lewis -- and come back from hanoi to do this job. he was a u.s. ambassador there. david is an expert on china, southeast asia to and from many of us who are sort of in the trenches every day on these issues, could not think of a better person for the pentagon to put into this role. next to him is one of the top of southeast asian in the united states. and he also is singapore's ambassador to the united states. he was most recently singapore's ambassador to indonesia. in the past he has been singapore's ambassador to australia and to kuala lumpur for and has all along career in the singapore ministry of foreign affairs working on asian-related affairs. and finally a good

apec has opened a valuable role in opening economies internally and to one another across the region. if you look at the tentative moves in terms of a more geopolitical and/or national security related discussions, there's been some contribution by the asean regional forum, a nascent contribution by the east asia summit, but frankly this needs to be taken further. why would both countries be interested in that. i don't think either beijing or the united states want to trip casually by accident or poor incident management into crisis conflict or war. therefore, what you need is an institution such as those we've seen evolve in europe over a long period of time. i emphasize "evolve." which begin to create basic confidence and securing measures between those in the region and other participants and over time to begin to evolve through that sort of head of government level regional discourse a nascent sense of common security rather than divided security. this does not replace the alliance structure. it supplements the alliance structure. of course, international models such as those offe