Leaders of Asian and Pacific nations concluded an unprecedented summit on this wind-swept island Saturday with a vow to forge closer economic ties, declaring "the emergence of a new voice" in world affairs.
"We've agreed that the Asian-Pacific region should be a united one, not divided," said President Clinton, summarizing for the 14 leaders. "We've agreed that our economic policies should be open, not closed." He added that the group hopes to see long-stalled world trade talks wrapped up by Dec. 15.On the final day of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the leaders issued a "joint vision statement" espousing freer trade and more global economic growth. The declaration was short on specific commitments.
"Our meeting reflects the emergence of a new voice for the Asia Pacific in world affairs," the statement said. "Our economies are moving toward interdependence and there is a growing state of community among us."
As the meeting broke up, Clinton told reporters APEC would meet again in Indonesia next year, accepting an invitation from President Suharto.
And in final remarks before leaving the Seattle area, the president told an audience of Coast Guard sailors: "These have been a good few days for the United States. In spirit, this meeting was incredibly positive. "Even in our differences, we found a way to talk," he said.
Chinese President Jiang Zemnin, whose one-on-one session with Clinton the day before was described as generally cool and formal, voiced satisfaction with Saturday's informal Blake Island talks.
"APEC should be open, flexible and loose," he said shortly after Clinton's departure. "The meeting was successful and it will have a positive impact."
Jiang gave no indication he was ready to budge on U.S. demands for human rights and other non-trade concessions.
He urged a "dialogue instead of trying toimpose one's will on the other. It is a good thing, not a bad thing, that the world is a diverse and colorful place," he said.
For the United States, the APEC conference marked a historic turn toward Asia, with the fastest-growing economies in the world, and less emphasis on Europe, struggling with sickly economies. Never before had so many Asian leaders assembled in the same place.
Clinton, flanked by casually dressed colleagues with a Puget Sound backdrop, said the informal three-hour morning session had enabled the group "to forge a stronger regional identity and a stronger purpose." He also said he was "struck by how many priorities we share" - among them economic growth, freer trade, environmental protection and better education and jobs.
"Of course we will not always agree on how to achieve those goals," he said. "But at least now, for the first time, our region has a means to hold serious policy discussions on such questions as how to remove trade barriers or how to sustain robust growth."
The APEC statement, strictly limited to economic issues, asserted: "We are united in our commitment to create a stable and prosperous future for our people."
The leaders - representing nations accounting for half the world's output of goods and services - directed their finance ministers to meet to discuss global economic trends and specific trade issues.
They also asked business leaders of the Pacific Rim to set up a "Pacific Business Forum" to help promote regional commerce.
Asked about difficult U.S.-Japanese trade relations, Clinton predicted progress "by next June or July, certainly by a year from now" on efforts to trim the huge U.S.-Japan trade imbalance - $49.6 billion last year.
On another subject, Clinton said South Korean President Kim Young Sam would meet with him in Washington on Tuesday to discuss a new initiative to try to open North Korea nuclear sites to international inspection. "It is a source of concern to us," he said.
The leaders pledged "our utmost efforts" to complete negotiations in Geneva on a new set of trade rules by a Dec. 15 deadline.
The statement - leaders declined to call it a formal "communique" - was issued after the leaders met for three hours in a lodge whose walls were decorated with wooden Indian masks.
U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor said that despite some rough spots in talks with China's leaders and lingering trade frictions with Japan, a "sense of common purpose" was emerging from the weeklong conference, which began with meetings of foreign and economic ministers.
"We're more than satisfied," Kantor said before the final session. "Like a train leaving a station, I think you will see it (trade with Asia) going faster and faster and faster."
Clinton welcomed the leaders aboard a state-run ferry for the 40-minute ride across Puget Sound to this 473-acre island eight miles from Seattle.
The Blake Island meeting was intended to replace the formal trappings of international summitry with a relaxed setting that shows the Pacific Northwest at its wild and scenic best.
Clinton felt that last summer's seven-nation economic summit in Japan had been stilted and constricting with its tightly regulated agenda, aides said. He believed he could make more progress in a highly personalized meeting where the only aides in the room were translators and note-takers.