Banners depicting the upcoming 30th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting outside the venue of the meeting in San Francisco, California, U.S., November 7, 2023. /Xinhua

Multilateral coordination is key for tackling rising debt, climate change, green economy transition, protectionist trade policies and supply chain disruptions, said a report unveiled by the regional economic forum Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on Sunday.

"We need to have cooperation among all of us (because) the world is global, and the problems are global. So, If we work individually, not coordinating all together, it's gonna be hard to do things," Carlos Kuriyama, director of the APEC Policy Support Unit said on the sidelines of a media briefing on the report APEC Regional Trends Analysis.

APEC as a whole faces downside risks from inflation, debt, climate change, geoeconomic fragmentation, trade protectionism and geopolitical issues in spite of upside opportunities from the tourism rebound, increased consumption and targeted fiscal support, according to the report.

Economic growth among APEC members would slow down to 2.8 percent in 2024 and 2.9 percent in 2025 from 3.3 percent in 2023 while the rest of the world is expected to grow 3.1 percent in 2024 and 3.6 percent in 2025, up from 2.6 percent this year, according to the report.

The report said a balanced mix of government policies along with multilateral cooperation is vital to economic recovery. Included are transparent monetary policy, targeted fiscal policy, a proactive approach to aging and enhanced regional cooperation.

APEC is an important platform that helps reach consensus in certain areas, said Kuriyama.

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, the United States, October 29, 2023. /Xinhua

"In APEC, we tried to put politics aside. We focus more on economic issues because that's where it's easier to get consensus," said Kuriyama in the Q&A session of the briefing.

Recent high-level meetings within APEC are positive and the openness of communication channels is very important and "gives us hope", Kuriyama said.

The 30th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting is scheduled for November 15 to 17 in San Francisco following a number of high-level meetings.

Home to 2.9 billion people, or nearly 40 percent of the world population, the 21 APEC economies account for about half of global trade and over 60 percent of the world's total gross domestic product (GDP).

APEC meetings throughout this year have focused on regional economic issues, including sustainability, digitalization, women's economic empowerment, trade facilitation, energy security, food security and health.

"The annual APEC leaders' meeting will involve the coordination of geopolitical order in the Pacific Rim, and the coordination of social and economic policies as well as governmental and social relations among the members," Zhang Yifei, an associate researcher from the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told CGTN.

All APEC members should seek the broadest common interests at the meeting in terms of the free flow of goods, personnel, labor and capital, and the improvement of official and people-to-people exchanges, he added.

(With input from agencies)