Lima, Peru - Recent Columbia University Professor and economist Jeffery Sachs said he expects the building of modernized linkages to top the agenda for China at this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, set to be held in Lima, Peru from Nov 15 to 16. Sachs told China Global Television (CGTN) that China's leg up in digitalization and modern communication infrastructure will lend the country leverage as a sharer of technologies. Noting the immense significance of the Belt and Road Initiative, Sachs pointed out that the global connectivity it is building is vital for both China and its many partners in the initiative. The economist also suggested that the summit is an opportunity to grow China's partnerships with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Latin America, all benefiting from tech innovation and big markets. Held from Nov. 10 to Nov. 16 under the theme of "Empower, Include, Grow" in Lima, Peru, APEC brings together around 20,000 participants, including heads of state and dignitaries from 21 member economies across Asia, the Pacific, North America, and South America. Shotlist: Lima, Peru - Recent: 1. Various of APEC Peru 2024 poster, building; 2. Various of pedestrians, street scenes, traffic; Rome, Italy - Recent 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Sachs, professor, Columbia University (partially overlaid with shots 4-7/ending with shots 8-9): "The digital revolution is very dramatic. China is already at not 5G, but 5.5G, because the network is 10 times faster than it was even when 5G was introduced a few years ago. And soon China will be leading 6G. Now, other countries want the technological advancement of the digital age as well. You know, one of my favorite initiatives in the world is the Belt and Road Initiative. It's the idea that countries should invest jointly in connectivity, building new ports, building new fast rail lines, building transport linkages, building fiber linkages, building renewable energy linkages. So, when the leaders meet, they should talk about these real things. Those don't depend on the United States. So, you can still have the very important regional discussions."; FILE: China - Exact Location and Date Unknown [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 4. Aerial shots of cityscape; 5. Various of telecommunications equipment; 6. Sign reading "5G-Advanced-based ultra-high-definition shallow compression encoding and real-time production system "; 7. Various of animation showing smart transportation, smart city; [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] FILE: Lima, Peru - Aug 2, 2023 8. Buildings, cars, national flag of Peru; 9. Pedestrians; FILE: Lima, Peru - Date Unknown 9. Government Palace; pedestrians; Rome, Italy - Recent 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Sachs, professor, Columbia University (partially overlaid with shots 11-13/ending with shot 14): "For example, China's relationship with ASEAN is extremely important for both regions I should say. ASEAN needs China, it needs the technology, it needs the connectivity, it needs the advancement, it needs the investment. For China, ASEAN is a natural, huge market of more than 750 million people. That should be discussed. The relationships between China and Latin America are very strong. China is the main trading partner of the Latin American members of APEC. This is surprising. It's not the United States. It's China that's the main trading partner. China buys a lot of food grain and feed grain from Latin America, a lot of natural resources. China is a provider of advanced technologies. So that's a very fruitful relationship, very important."; [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] FILE: Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China - Date Unknown 11. National flags of China, ASEAN countries; flags of China-ASEAN Expo; FILE: Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China - Sept 15, 2018 12. National flags of ASEAN countries; flags of China-ASEAN Expo; FILE: Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China - Date Unknown 13. Aerial shot of venue for China-ASEAN Expo; flags of China-ASEAN Expo; [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] FILE: Peru - July 2024 14. Various of Chancay Port, containers, cranes; Peruvian national flag; FILE: China - Exact Location and Date Unknown 15. Aerial shots of containers, cranes, vessels at port. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]