HUAIROU, China Leaders of Asia-Pacific economies agreed Tuesday to begin work tow

ard possible adoption of a free-trade pact proposed by China, the Chinese presid
ent announced, giving Beijing a victory in its push for a bigger role in making
trade policy.
After a two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, leaders agreed to laun
ch a two-year study of the initiative, President Xi Jinping said at a news confe
rence. Xi, the meetings host, called the decision by leaders including U.S. Presid
ent Barack Obama and Russias Vladimir Putin a historic step.
China is promoting the proposed Free-Trade Area of the Asia Pacific despite U.S.
pressure to wrap up other trade negotiations. Analysts see it as a response to
a U.S.-led initiative, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes 12 countrie
s but excludes China.
The APEC leaders also endorsed a proposal to work more closely to combat officia
l corruption, Xi said
Beijing has launched a series of trade and finance initiatives in pursuit of a b
igger role in U.S.-dominated economic and security organizations to reflect Beij
ings status as the worlds second-biggest economy.
APEC was the first major international gathering in China since Xi took power. T
he presence of world leaders gave Beijing a platform to lobby for a bigger leade
rship role.
Regional economic integration is the long-term driving force for growth in the Asi
a-Pacific region, Xi said.
On the eve of the gathering, Beijing announced a free-trade agreement with South
Korea. Also Monday, regulators approved a plan to open Chinese stock markets wi
der to foreign investors by linking exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai. That fo
llowed the weekend announcement of a $40 billion Chinese-financed fund to improv
e trade links between Asian economies.
Earlier this year, Beijing launched a regional development bank with 20 other go
vernments. In May, Xi called for a new Asian structure for security cooperation
based on a group that includes Russia and Iran but excludes the United States.
China says its motives are benign. But its growing economic weight as the top tr
ading partner for most of its neighbors from South Korea to Australia could erod
e U.S. influence.
Tuesdays meeting took place under elaborate security at a government conference ce
nter in wooded hills north of the Chinese capital, Beijing.
In an effort to appear more open, organizers took the unusual step of allowing a
ccess from the press center to websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube th
at usually are blocked by Chinas extensive Internet filters.
The Asia-Pacific trade pact was first proposed by an APEC business panel but Chi
na has taken the lead in promoting it.
Obama said Monday the United States welcomes the rise of a prosperous, peaceful and
stable China. Still, American officials chafe at Beijings insistence on promoting
the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.
U.S. trade officials say the two proposals are not competitors. But they want Be
ijing to wrap up a U.S.-Chinese investment treaty and a separate agreement to lo
wer barriers to trade in information technology. Washington and some other gover

nments argued the Chinese proposal would be a distraction at APEC but Beijing ma
de it the centerpiece of the meeting.
Few details of the U.S.-led proposal have been released but promoters say it wou
ld reduce or eliminate tariffs on most goods among the member countries. That mi
ght hurt China by encouraging member countries to trade more with each other.
Leaders of the nations involved in TPP talks, including the United States, Mexic
o, Japan and Australia, met Monday and issued a statement saying they were makin
g progress. The talks have been delayed repeatedly by disputes over the sweeping
nature of its market-opening proposals.
We have instructed our ministers and negotiators to make concluding this agreement
a top priority, the statement said.
The initiative promoted by Beijing is less ambitious and is aimed at reducing co
nflict among overlapping trade agreements between pairs of Asia-Pacific economie
s.
It is a logical response to being excluded from the TPP, said Li Wei, an economi
st at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing.
If the U.S. doesnt want China to join the TPP, then China can form its own trade gro
ups, said Li.
Li also pointed to limits on access to U.S. markets for some Chinese technology
companies such as Huawei Technologies Ltd., a maker of network switching gear, o
n security grounds.
The world, with the U.S. leading, is retreating from free trade. It is moving into
protectionism, said Li. If the U.S. is saying, I should be careful about who I have
free trade with, then China should take a more liberalizing role.