China calls for APEC cooperation as commerce minister skips opening over ‘urgent official business’

SUZHOU, China — Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative, opened the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers' meeting on Friday with a call for regional economies to "send a strong message to the world" in support of cooperation. Li said he was chairing the opening meeting in place of China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, who had "urgent official business," according to a CNBC translation of his remarks in Chinese. …