(VOVworld) -  Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday called for joint efforts by China and Russia to push forward the process of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) while delivering a keynote speech at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Lima, capital of Peru.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (Photo: Xinhua)

President Xi said that FTAAP "is a strategic initiative critical for the long-term prosperity of the Asia-Pacific. Xi told the global leaders to firmly pursue the FTAAP as an institutional mechanism for ensuring an open economy in the Asia-Pacific. The FTAAP process was launched at the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing with the endorsement of a roadmap. A "collective strategic study" was conducted subsequently, as agreed by the APEC members, and the result should be reported to the economic leaders by the end of 2016.