The first APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting in 2014 was held in Ningbo on Feb 27 and 28. It was the first official APEC activity held in China after it became the host for this year’s APEC meetings. The meeting, which was part of the preparations for the Economic Leaders’ Meeting held in Beijing this month, enabled senior officials from the APEC region to experience for themselves this dynamic city, which has close economic and trade relations with APEC economies. Ningbo’s exports to the APEC region were worth $27.3 billion in the first three quarters of this year, up 11.13 percent from the same period last year.

?Last year, seven of Ningbo’s top 10 trade partners were APEC members. Allan Bollard, executive director of the APEC Secretariat, said that he was very impressed by Ningbo.

“It is a very competitive international port city. Its development reflects in miniature the overall development of the Asia-Pacific region,” he said. To help them to better know the city, Ningbo showcased its traditional culture for the APEC officials.

A performance of local folk songs and a modern 4-D show telling stories of ancient Ningbo were big hits with the visiting guests. Kristin O’Grady, the program director of the APEC Secretariat Singapore, said that she was greatly impressed that Ningbo had been able to preserve its culture so well. She also praised the locals, saying she found local people to be very open-minded.

“They are keen to communicate with the rest of the world and their friendliness makes me like this city,” she said.

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shixf@chinadaily.com.cn and yanyiqi@chinadaily.com.cn