(Adds Schwab paragraph 5, China-Peru paragraph 7)
By Terry Wade
LIMA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The United States, China, Japan and some emerging economy heavyweights will push for quick action on free trade deals at a summit meeting this weekend as an antidote to a looming recession in much of the world.
One idea gaining traction ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Peru is to forge a regional free-trade zone from bilateral pacts of APEC's 21 members, a diverse lot that also includes Russia, Mexico, Australia, Canada and Indonesia.
Leaders of the world's biggest economies last week called for rapid economic stimulus packages to stabilize financial markets and to make one more push for a global free trade deal before the end of this year.
U.S. President George W. Bush and the leaders of other APEC countries, which together account for more than half of global economic output, will use the summit to rally for a global pact under the so-called Doha round.
"We're really talking about maybe a two-week period where you either see some real movement," or not, said U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab. A global deal "is sorely needed in the current economic environment," she said.
But Doha talks have lurched from one setback to another over the past seven years, so some APEC leaders are trying to move along regional or bilateral agreements as well.
On Wednesday, leaders of Peru and China said they have successfully wrapped up talks for a bilateral trade deal, which could be signed as early as March.
Canada's trade minister, Stockwell Day, says his government supports "trade liberalization through the World Trade Organization and through regional and bilateral agreements."
An APEC free-trade deal would take several years to seal and regional trade pacts may not be a priority for U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. But a regional agreement could be easier to reach because it would not include India, Brazil and the European Union.
APEC leaders will meet in Peru's fortified defense ministry and 39,000 police will patrol the coastal capital Lima to prevent an attack by the left-wing Shining Path insurgency, which has struck four times since last month in the Andean highlands.
The heads of state will issue a statement on the international financial crisis at the end of their two-day summit on Sunday.
Nine of the APEC members also belong to the G20 group of leading economies which last week agreed to take fiscal stimulus measures to stave off a deep recession.
The G20 nations said the International Monetary Fund needs more money to help emerging economies through the global crisis, and also promised a review of accounting standards, credit rating agencies and risky derivatives trading.
But specific measures were not announced and some tough decisions will be left until after Obama takes power in January.
Some small countries dependent on export revenues fear that big economies, faced with recession, will turn inward. They want APEC members to go further than the G20, which agreed to avoid raising trade barriers over the next 12 months.
"What worries me is that despite what the G20 says, it doesn't have the heart or mind to understand how the problems of protectionism and state-centered development would affect us," Peruvian President Alan Garcia said. (Additional reporting by Louise Egan in Ottawa; Marco Aquino, Dana Ford and Chris Buckley in Lima; Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Kieran Murray)