Trade ministers from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum kicked off a two-day meeting Wednesday in Shanghai, where they are expected to agree to push for the launch in November in Qatar of a new round of trade liberalization talks under the World Trade Organization.

At the outset of the meeting at the Shanghai International Convention Center, Chinese Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Minister Shi Guangsheng, who chairs the meeting, read a message from Chinese President Jiang Zemin that said the gathering was important for the maintenance of a stable and open economic and trade environment in the region and for the establishment of a fair and rational new world economic order.

The APEC ministers likely will urge the agenda of the new trade talks to be broad-based, Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma told reporters just before the meeting's opening.

Although some countries are still reluctant to cover broad issues in the round's agenda, Japan's commitment to help them implement past WTO agreements would let APEC reach an accord at least in October when their leaders meet, also in Shanghai, Hiranuma said.