The key to injecting new momentum into the Asia-Pacific economy lies in modernizing regional trade agreements to include critical sectors, such as digital trade and services, said Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director of the APEC Secretariat, on Wednesday. Speaking in an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV) ahead of the convening of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea (ROK) on Friday, Pedrosa offered his perspectives of the influence of APEC on regional development. "What the free trade area of the Asia Pacific started off as an idea, as a responding to the proliferation of regional trade agreements. So, what we found was that businesses were trying to adapt to the supply chains, but they found it difficult to adjust to the rules of origin. There are so many different rules of origin in complex supply chains. That was one part of the discussion. Another part of that discussion was that the Doha Development Round of the WTO had stalled. The hope was that the concept of an FTAAP (Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific) would help energize those multilateral discussions," Pedrosa said. "But now, FTAAP has taken on a life of its own. It has become core to APEC's mission. What we're trying to do is to use existing pathways, like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and also the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. These are pathways, if you like, to an eventual FTAAP. Now, what we really need to do with these agreements is to make sure that they are relevant. As we talk, is it all trading goods? Is it trade in services? Is it digital trade? So, we need to make sure that these agreements moving forward are really relevant to where we all live and work today," he added. When asked about APEC's relationship with other regional bodies like ASEAN, Pedrosa highlighted the close and complementary partnership. "ASEAN is actually an official observer of APEC. So, ASEAN actually participates in APEC's meetings. So, that's a very strong connection that we have between ASEAN and APEC. Many ASEAN members are also members of APEC. So, that already has a built-in mechanism for coordination. But beyond that, APEC is open. APEC is open to views, input from all different types of organizations. So, the World Bank, the IMF, so these are really useful strengths that APEC has. It's not an exclusive club, but it's somewhere where people can come together and hear views from all around the world and what will be important for the people and the kind of research ideas that come through these different organizations," said Pedrosa. The video shows: Gyeongju, ROK - Oct 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Various of sign of "2025 APEC"; traffic 2. Banners of APEC 2025 Gyeongju, ROK - Oct 29, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director, APEC Secretariat (starting with shot 2/partially overlaid with shots 4-5): "And what the free trade area of the Asia Pacific started off as an idea, as a responding to the proliferation of regional trade agreements. So, what we found was that businesses were trying to adapt to the supply chains, but they found it difficult to adjust to the rules of origin. There are so many different rules of origin in complex supply chains. That was one part of the discussion. Another part of that discussion was that the Doha Development Round of the WTO had stalled. The hope was that the concept of an FTAAP (Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific) would help energize those multilateral discussions." ++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ Gyeongju, ROK - Oct 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 4. Traffic Gyeongju, ROK - Oct 29, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 5. Pedrosa in interview ++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ Gyeongju, ROK - Oct 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 6. Various of sign of APEC 2025; flower wall Gyeongju, ROK - Oct 29, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director, APEC Secretariat (partially overlaid with shot 8): "But now, FTAAP has taken on a life of its own. It has become core to APEC's mission. What we're trying to do is to use existing pathways, like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and also the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. These are pathways, if you like, to an eventual FTAAP. Now, what we really need to do with these agreements is to make sure that they are relevant. As we talk, is it all trading goods? Is it trade in services? Is it digital trade? So, we need to make sure that these agreements moving forward are really relevant to where we all live and work today." Gyeongju, ROK - Oct 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) ++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ 8. Various of sign of APEC 2025 Korea ++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Oct 2025 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 9. Various of logos, venue for 47th ASEAN Summit, ASEAN Malaysia 2025 Gyeongju, ROK - Oct 29, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director, APEC Secretariat (starting with shot 9/partially overlaid with shots 11-12/ending with shot 13): "Well, ASEAN is actually an official observer of APEC. So, ASEAN actually participates in APEC's meetings. So, that's a very strong connection that we have between ASEAN and APEC. Many ASEAN members are also members of APEC. So, that already has a built-in mechanism for coordination. But beyond that, APEC is open. APEC is open to views, input from all different types of organizations. So, the World Bank, the IMF, so these are really useful strengths that APEC has. It's not an exclusive club, but it's somewhere where people can come together and hear views from all around the world and what will be important for the people and the kind of research ideas that come through these different organizations." Gyeongju, ROK - Oct 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) ++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ 11. Various of sign of APEC 2025 Korea 12. Flag ++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ Gyeongju, ROK - Oct 29, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 13. Pedrosa in interview Gyeongju, ROK - Oct 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 14. Traffic; banners of APEC 2025 15. Cityscape [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]