The heads of state of China, the United States, Russia, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam will make official visits to Chile while attending the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) here on Nov. 20-21.

At a press conference, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Escobar said that the meetings of the forum under the presidency of Chile will start next Sunday.

Lagos said that among the issues to be addressed during the meetings will be the liberalization of trade, free-trade agreements and their impact on the region, sustainable development and the combat against corruption.

Lagos also attached importance to negotiations between China and Chile for a free trade agreement that both governments expect to start during the APEC Summit.

As well, he added that Chilean officials will meet to analyze the achievements of the trade negotiations with New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei.

Lagos said that Chile organized six ministerial meetings in 2004 on education, trade, mining, finance, small and medium-sized companies and tourism, and will hand over a report on each topic to APEC leaders during the summit.

APEC comprises Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

Source: Xinhua