The 38th International General Meeting of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) opened in Hong Kong on Monday.

David Eldon, chairman of the PBEC, hosted the opening ceremony.

Stephen Olsen, president of the bloc, and Henry Tang, acting chief executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, attended the ceremony.

Supachai Panitchpakdi, director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Wu Yi, vice premier of China, and former United States Secretary of State Collin Powell have been invited to attend the economic forum.

This international general meeting, themed "The Pacific Basin: Setting the Pace for the Global Economy," will cover several keynote speeches, on topics such as challenges for the global economy, future of WTO, terrorism as a global threat and the latest developments of Japan and Latin America.

PBEC, set up in 1967 and headquartered in Hong Kong, grouped 1,000 companies in 20 economies throughout the Pacific region.

Source: Xinhua