RENEE MONTAGNE, host: And EU countries have long been practicing free trade, of course. Yesterday, leaders of Asian and Pacific Rim economies agreed to work to build a free trade zone across that region. The members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, also known as APEC, were holding their annual meeting in Yokohama, Japan.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: NPR's Rob Gifford reports.</s>ROB GIFFORD: The pledge of cooperation at APEC contrasted sharply with the discord over currency issues that had emerged just days before at the G-20 summit in Seoul, South Korea. The APEC forum, which comprises 21-member economies, from China to Peru, from the USA to New Zealand, reaffirmed in a closing statement what it called its unwavering commitment to achieving free and open trade in the region.</s>ROB GIFFORD: Host Prime Minister Naoto Kan of Japan said the rough target for the establishment of the free trade area is the year 2020. Prime Minister Kan also pledged a break from past protectionist policies in his own country, saying that Japan is determined  as he put it - to reopen itself.</s>ROB GIFFORD: The Asia-Pacific region has led the world's recovery from the financial crisis, and the region's leaders seem convinced that open markets are a sure way to ensure future growth. If such a free trade zone were to be implemented, it would encompass more than half the world's economic production and two-fifths of the world's trade. But experts say that achieving such a feat would be very difficult, bearing in mind the diversity of the trans-Pacific region and the vested interests that exist within all member economies that would be opposed to opening markets.</s>ROB GIFFORD: Robert Gifford, NPR News, Shanghai.
Asia-Pacific leaders say they are committed to achieving a Pacific-wide free trade zone. The 21 members of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum agreed over the weekend to build toward the region-wide trade zone.