REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MANILA -- Leaders and business actors of member countries of ASEAN Plus Three (APT), consisting of 10 ASEAN countries plus Japan, China, and South Korea, called for a more open trading system.

The appeal was delivered at a face-to-face meeting between APT Leaders and East Asia Business Council (EABC), led by President of the Philippines Rodrigo Roa Duterte, at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in the Philippines on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Duterte stated that open and free trade was needed to integrate the economies of countries in East Asian region and attract partners from other regions of the world.

"It is important to have our regional business partners join us as we work together to foster the realization of a larger and progressive East Asian Community," he stated.

In response, other ASEAN countries' leaders, including leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea, also expressed their support for the vision of the East Asian Economic Community.

The meeting between leaders of APT and EABC also focused on efforts business development under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Leaders and business actors of member countries of APT considered joining the RCEP as the next logical step in ASEAN regional integration to strengthen Southeast Asian region as a global trading hub.

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