Mr Howard said the meeting issued a strong statement calling the nations of the world to get more serious about the Doha trade negotiations.
"They still represent the last best hope for an aggregate multilateral trade agreement," he said.
"Movement is needed in areas of agriculture and industrial products."
Mr Howard said APEC was for Australia the premier international gathering by far, representing the bulk of Australia's economic, political and strategic future.
He said the gathering fully engaged most of Australia's major trading partners such as Japan, China Korea and the US.
"It also links us in constant dialogue with the leaders of the major economies of the region. Eight out of 10 of Australia's best trading partners are to be found 60-70 per cent of Australia's trade is to be found in the APEC region," he said.
"If ever a meeting underpins and reasserts the importance of globalisation in lifting millions of people out of poverty it is the APEC meeting."
Mr Howard said he was not aware of any negative reaction from China about the trilateral security dialogue between the US, Japan and Australia.
"The trilateral security dialogue is a natural coming together of three specific democracies, Australia, the United States and Japan. It is not directed at anybody," the Prime Minister said.
"It is natural that we should relate to each other through the prism of that common practice of democracy."
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