Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Singapore is being reported as a triumphal progress by the Chinese media. While the video here from CCTV.com highlights the growing ties between the two countries --- see Singapore President SR Nathan nodding his head with a smile --- some of the reporting by the mainstream media glorifies China.
The China Daily reports under the headline, China's Apec role grows in stature:
Comprising 21 countries and regions, it is one of the foremost economic groupings in the world. Together, the member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum account for about half of global trade.
But amid all these stellar credentials and achievements, sceptics of APEC still see it as one of many international institutions that fail to have any clout beyond mere talk. Other than its reliance on consensus, they also point to APEC coming up short during the Asian financial crisis and its relative unimportance in light of more pressing issues of the day such as terrorism and climate change in recent years.
Still, at least one aspect of this year's forum has already made itself very clear - the rising role of China in the grouping and beyond.
The China Daily adds:
President Hu Jintao's speech at APEC's CEO Summit this Friday has been highlighted as a major event of the forum this year.
From high-level symposium speakers discussing a new world order with China at the forefront to photojournalists battling for a slot to snap Hu's arrival in the host country, the world's third-largest economy and its fastest-growing one in the past three decades is on the lips and minds of many at APEC's meeting halls here in Singapore.
More Chinese students will probably be coming to Singapore and more Singapore government scholars going to China following President Hu's call for "closer people-to-people exchanges, cultural and knowledge exchanges". Xinhua has the report.
China has also signed off on an agreement for free flow of information. See the joint statement from the Apec ministerial meeting. Under the subhead, Strengthening the Digital Economy and Information Networks, it says:
We encourage all economies… to allow for effective privacy protections while avoiding barriers to information flow and the promotion of trade, investment and economic growth.
The goal is universal access to broadband in all APEC economies by 2015.
The reason for China's increasing importance in Apec is captured in the following graphic by the Wall Street Journal, which says:
President Barack Obama will hold a first-ever summit with the leaders of Southeast Asia next week as the U.S. tries to regain its dominance in a region that plays a crucial role in global trade but has rapidly expanded ties with China in recent years.
China has overtaken America as a major Apec trading partner.
