华联学院英文报刊阅读教案15 APEC promises to bring new prosperity

1、Passage 15 4/4Passage 15APEC promises to bring new prosperityBy 21st Century, November 12, 2014Fewer cars hit the road. Many people were given several days off. You may not care about “boring” international conferences, but if you live in Beijing, you must have felt the measures introduced for the 2

2、014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, held from Nov 5 to 11. Some disapproved of these measures, as they caused inconveniences in peoples everyday lives. After all, few car owners like restrictions on when they can drive and commuters hated the resulting crowds on the subway. They c

3、omplained: why bother holding such a meeting? Did it have something to do with me? It does, indeed. For starters, lets look at what APEC is. According to its website, APEC “is a forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region”. “APEC is an intergo

4、vernmental group that operates on the basis of non-binding commitments. It has no treaty obligations required of its participants. Decisions made within APEC are reached by consensus and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis.” APEC has 21 member economies, including China, the US, Australi

5、a, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia and Singapore. These economies account for around 40 percent of the worlds population, 55 percent of global GDP and 44 percent of world trade. Since its establishment in 1989, APEC has been changing our lives without you knowing it.Cheaper g

6、oods First, as a result of APEC, we can buy cheaper and cheaper fruits from Southeast Asia, milk powder from New Zealand and wine from Chile. APEC has been pushing free trade and working to cut tariffs taxes on imported/exported goods and other trade barriers. Since its foundation, according to Guan

7、gzhou Daily, the average tariff levels in the region have dropped from 17 percent in 1989 to 5.7 percent in 2011, which has dramatically increased exports and brought down prices.Faster delivery If you are a lover of South Korean cosmetics and the country launches a new line of products, do you want

8、 to get it delivered to you as soon as possible? Thanks to APEC, which works to promote the efficient movement of goods, services and people across borders in the region, its possible for a product imported from abroad to arrive in just a few days.Convenient travel If you visit Southeast Asia freque

9、ntly, you must know that the visa application procedures are simple and convenient, which APEC also takes some credit for. APEC members have been strengthening cross-border tourist cooperation to make traveling easier in the future. The benefits APEC has brought us are numerous and the list will grow longer. During APEC meetings held in Beijing, world leaders talked about actions to further promote free trade, innovation and improve infrastructure and connectivity. They also reached important co