On August 29, led by the Ministry of Commerce and hosted by UIBE the "2015 APEC FTAAP Strategy Seminar" was held in Cebu, Philippines. Nearly 100 government representatives and renowned scholars from all 21 APEC countries including the United States, Japan, Russia and Indonesia attended the conference. Xu Hongjie, Dean of the School of International Trade and Economics from UIBE hosted the opening ceremony. Sun Yuanjiang, Deputy Director of the International Trade and Economic Affairs Department under MOFCOM, Ken Schagrin, Deputy Director of USTR, John Larkin, Chairman of Committee of Trade & Investment under APEC attended the ceremony and delivered speeches.

As an important part of the Third APEC Senior Officials Meeting, the seminar had 4 sessions. Zhao Zhongxiu, Vice-President of UIBE gave a speech in the "The Importance and Influence of FTAAP" session. Zhao elaborated the necessity and feasibility of the implementation of FTAAP by theoretical and numerical analysis. He emphasized on FTAAP's important role as the engine of global economic growth and said that it is high time to advance the realization process of a FTAAP. Zhao's speech showed the leading role of China as well as UIBE's position at the forefront of theoretical economics.

Delegates from 21 APEC economies participated in the following heated discussion. After the meeting, all attendants agreed that anticipatory goals were achieved: the timely seminar helped the APEC economies build consensus and would surely promote the in-depth discussions among all economies on issues of the importance, path, challenges and coping strategies of the realization of FTAAP Beijing Roadmap.

Pei Jiansuo and An Dingding from the School of International Trade and Economics and Geng Luxi from Department of International Relations of the host UIBE cooperated with MOFCOM. Their preparation and arrangements ensured the success of the seminar. During the preparation phase, UIBE focused their efforts on policy analysis, document drafting, external contact and other arrangements for the meeting. Dean Hong Junjie and Pei Jiansuo joined the APEC Secretariat respectively as an advisor and temporary staff, contributing actively in the discussion of document modification and the writing of the summary report.

The Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs under MOFCOM was satisfied with the success of the seminar and send a letter of thanks to UIBE to praise its work. The letter also expressed hope for future cooperation to help China play a leading role in constructing regional economic cooperation and promote the development of FTAAP.

The success of the seminar shows UIBE's research achievements in FTA theories and policies and enhances its international reputation. It is the first time for UIBE to host an important conference abroad for an international organization. It has accumulated valuable experiences for future undertakings of high-level overseas international conferences and has important implications for improving UIBE's international influence and accelerating its internationalization process.