This paper will investigate whether or not the present mechanisms for Asia-Pacific economic cooperation are appropriate. In particular, it examines the channels of consultations, official and private, on matters of economic cooperation among Asia-Pacific countries, with a specific reference to the recent changes in the constellation of economic power structures and economic exchanges among countries, as well as the long-term structural characteristics of the Asia-Pacific economy.

Contents

Introduction

I. Initiatives of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
1. The APEC Initiatives : the Initial Stage
2. Institutions for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

II. The APEC Mechanism : the APEC Ministerial-level Meeting(APEC-M)
1. Economic Background of the APEC Mechanism
2. Needs of an Inter-Governmental Mechanism for APEC
3. The Australian Initiatives
4. The First Ministerial-level Meeting on Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC)
5. The APEC Mechanism

III. Enhancement of the APEC Mechanism
1. New External Challenges
2. Institutional Reinforcements

IV. Summary and Conclusions

References