The push for inclusive approaches and development reflects honest commitment to advancing economic cooperation with open mechanisms and flexible pathways. Non-economic issues such as the global fight against terrorism can be addressed with similarly pragmatic and honest approaches.

APEC 2015 ended with a vow to combat terrorism, yet the Summit refused to be distracted from its true goal – economic development. In the coming years, the United States, China, and the Association of Southeast Nations must compromise if they truly want to invest in both regional peace and economic development.

Except for the disruptive years of the “cultural revolution”, the five-year planning system has given the country a unified strategic outlook, especially in the recent years of opening up and development. The current CPC Central Committee is steering the Chinese government, in the coming five years, to emphasize people’s livelihood and well-being, and to effectively promote economic transformation and consolidation.

In the past, people measured China’s contribution to global economic growth through China’s GDP growth. But many factors in the GDP are the profits created by the foreign companies’ investments in China, so new ways of looking at the impact of China’s economy are in order.

A free-trade agreement for the Asia-Pacific would capitalize on the capabilities and the diversity of APEC countries. As broached by China in 1996, an open economy in the Asia-Pacific is a step toward common development, prosperity and progress for the whole region.

The Philippine’s theme of this year's APEC Summit is “Building Inclusive Economies, Building A Better World.” Like the case for China's 2014 hosting, this 2015 agenda reflects clear Philippine domestic imperatives. As a major labor exporter, the Philippines will work well with the topic of investments in human capital development.

Rising incomes, limited farmland, and polluted water and soil has prompted China to look overseas for agriculture imports. Over the last decade, the United States has been China’s top agricultural partner and this relationship looks likely to continue and indeed strengthen.

When it comes to economic rebalancing, China will need to be patient, recognizing that the current generation is simply too fixated on saving to provide the kind of surge in consumption that is needed. There are steps policymakers can take to accelerate progress, but, until the next generation grows up, real progress will have to wait.

The SCO emerged as a convenient platform for the Central Asian leadership to preserve domestic status quo by accommodating the ambitions of both Moscow and Beijing within one framework. However, the SCO fails to project itself as an effective regional organization, and is perceived more so as a discussion forum.

Fluctuations in China’s currency and economy don’t have the wild effect on the global markets that many critics allege, and such accusations distract from a needed collective focus on maintaining stability.