Consolidate consensus in business cooperation and jointly write a new chapter in Asia Pacific development (APEC China Year: Open Innovation Cooperation)

On June 21st, the 2026 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Leaders' Forum on China, with the theme of "Openness, Connectivity, and Collaboration: Linking the Asia Pacific and Co creating the Future," was held in Beijing. As a landmark event in the business sector of APEC's "China Year", this forum brought together more than 300 representatives from APEC members and international organizations. The attending guests had in-depth exchanges and consensus building on topics such as regional economic integration, interconnectivity, and digital innovation, contributing the wisdom and strength of the business community to promote Asia Pacific openness, cooperation, and win-win outcomes, and promote regional economic growth.

Open cooperation consolidates new consensus on the Asia Pacific Free Trade Area

The current international situation is intertwined with turmoil, globalization is facing setbacks, protectionism continues to spread, and world economic growth is weak. How the Asia Pacific business community can work together to enhance regional economic resilience has attracted much attention.

The Asia Pacific business community is a pioneer of the times, a trailblazer of change, and a trendsetter. The more turbulent and intertwined the international situation becomes, the more we need to work together, break through the impasse, deepen cooperation, and achieve win-win results. Ren Hongbin, Chairman of the 2026 APEC Business Leaders Summit and President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, stated that the Asia Pacific business community should work together to uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, continue to promote regional trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, deepen the process of Asia Pacific economic integration, work together to expand the economic and trade cake, and promote the development and prosperity of the Asia Pacific through mutual achievements.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the vision for the Asia Pacific Free Trade Area. Eduardo Pedrosa, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, stated that the Asia Pacific business community should adhere to the original intention of cooperation, consolidate open consensus, steadily promote the process of regional economic integration, help APEC continuously improve the resilience of industrial and supply chains, and provide strong support for the recovery and growth of the global economy.

The Asia Pacific business community is the main force in promoting regional economic cooperation and deepening economic and trade cooperation, "said Chen Xu, Chairman of the 2026 APEC Senior Officials' Meeting and President of the China Public Diplomacy Association. As the main channel for the business community to participate in APEC cooperation, the APEC Business Advisory Council has successfully held two meetings in Indonesia and Mexico this year, effectively consolidating consensus from all parties and issuing a strong call to support the open development of the Asia Pacific, support regional economic integration and the construction of the Asia Pacific Free Trade Area, and support connectivity and innovative development.

Foreign investment in China has covered 20 industry categories and 115 major industry categories, with a total of 1.24 million enterprises established and an investment of nearly 3 trillion US dollars; In 2025, the revenue profit rate of foreign-funded enterprises above designated size will reach 6.8%... Jiang Chenghua, deputy representative of the Ministry of Commerce of China for international trade negotiations, said that the business community and China's economy have grown together and achieved mutual benefit and win-win results in participating in the process of Chinese path to modernization. As the world's second largest consumer market, China's level of openness continues to improve, and emerging technologies such as digitization, intelligence, and greening are rapidly developing, becoming and will continue to become a fertile ground for global enterprises to invest and develop in the long run. China will continue to use the new achievements of Chinese path to modernization to provide new development opportunities for the Asia Pacific and the world.

Brett O'Reilly, New Zealand representative of the APEC Business Advisory Council and General Manager of Auckland Corporate Governance Consulting, stated that promoting the construction of an integrated, open, predictable, inclusive, and sustainable business environment is the core issue of the APEC Business Advisory Council and a key support for boosting trade and investment vitality in the Asia Pacific region. Faced with multiple pressures such as technological changes such as generative artificial intelligence, rising protectionism, climate issues, and energy transition, the APEC business community needs to unite and pragmatically break through the situation, promote the process of the Asia Pacific Free Trade Area, and enable enterprises to truly feel the sense of gain brought by the optimization and upgrading of the business environment.

Interconnection promotes a new journey of Asia Pacific cooperation

Interconnection is an important foundation for regional economic integration and a necessary part of promoting the construction of an Asia Pacific community with a shared future. This year, at the initiative of China and with the support of all parties, the APEC Business Advisory Council has resumed the establishment of the Connectivity Working Group after 8 years, and issued a statement on supporting connectivity at the second meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council held in Mexico in April.

Improving connectivity and supply chain resilience is our key agenda, "Pedrosa said. As an important outcome of the 2014 APEC Beijing meeting, the" APEC Connectivity Blueprint (2015-2025) "provides important guidance for all parties to promote connectivity. Under the APEC framework, the third phase (2022-2026) of the Action Plan for Supply Chain Interconnection Framework has been implemented to address challenges such as insufficient efficiency in digital transformation of regional supply chains, inadequate infrastructure construction, insufficient cross-border data flow and payment cooperation, weak awareness of green supply chain development, and lack of special support policies for small and medium-sized enterprises. The deep participation of the business community is crucial, providing practical references for the implementation of relevant work and strong guarantees for the effectiveness of policy implementation, "said Pedrosa.

Lu Yiming, the US representative of the APEC Business Advisory Council and President of Boeing China, emphasized the importance of interconnectivity using the aviation industry as an example. He said that currently there are about 14000 Boeing planes operating non-stop worldwide every day, with an average daily passenger transport volume of 11 million people. In the next 20 years, it is expected that 60% of new aircraft will be delivered to the APEC region, and the overall passenger and freight transportation volume in the region will significantly increase. Lu Yiming said, "Connectivity will further activate air travel, cargo transportation, and personnel mobility, better empowering global development

The core of interconnectivity lies in 'people', "said Philip Daridasky, Australian representative of the APEC Business Advisory Council and managing partner of Horizon Robotics. The implementation of the APEC Business Travel Card provides convenience for business exchanges among members and has become an important link in promoting regional cultural exchanges. Just like today's forum, where everyone gathers in Beijing for face-to-face communication, this is a vivid manifestation of the connectivity in the Asia Pacific region, "said Daridaski.

Anindia Noviyan Bakri, the Indonesian representative of the APEC Business Advisory Council and Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, admitted that Indonesia's economic growth rate was about 5.1% last year and reached 5.6% in the first quarter of this year, thanks to interconnectivity in infrastructure, cultural exchanges, and mechanisms. Regarding China's joint efforts to promote the development of an upgraded version of the APEC Connectivity Blueprint, Anindia is full of expectations: "By promoting connectivity in a more green, sustainable, and inclusive way, the cooperation results under the APEC framework will benefit more people. ”

Digital innovation empowers new economic growth in the Asia Pacific region

Innovation is the wings of Asia Pacific economic takeoff and a new growth point for APEC business cooperation. Currently, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating, especially the rapid development of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, which profoundly changes the global resource allocation and industrial development pattern, bringing unprecedented opportunities for industrial cooperation in the Asia Pacific region.

Li Fanrong, Chairman of the APEC Business Advisory Council and Chairman of China National Chemical Corporation in 2026, stated that since the beginning of this year, the APEC Business Advisory Council has promoted in-depth consultations and experience sharing among the business community on issues such as the practical application of artificial intelligence in the industry and sustainable industrial development. It calls for creating a stable and predictable development environment for digital trade, and by focusing on new tracks, laying out new industries, and improving new rules, it will help the Asia Pacific region continue to consolidate its advantages in global innovation and industrial competition, and explore new opportunities for economic growth.

In the view of Sepi, CEO of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, China has demonstrated strong guidance in industrial production, financial services, traditional manufacturing, energy transformation, and artificial intelligence. This not only profoundly changes the development path of related industries, but also provides more practical experience that can be promoted for the region. APEC members need to bridge the digital divide, fully unleash the effects of digital innovation technologies represented by artificial intelligence, help cultivate new economic growth points in the Asia Pacific region, and jointly create a more resilient and dynamic Asia Pacific digital economy ecosystem. ”Safi said.

Innovation should be placed at a key position in rule restructuring and trade transformation, "Bret O'Reilly believes." APEC member companies should take practical actions to promote the implementation of priority issues such as paperless trade, cross-border data sharing, and trade facilitation, while improving digital trade rules and empowering the development of artificial intelligence and green trade. ”

Chen Xu stated that the APEC business community should actively practice corporate social responsibility, fully leverage its advantages, deepen exchanges and cooperation in areas such as green and low-carbon, clean energy, small and medium-sized enterprises, women and youth, support the improvement of people's artificial intelligence literacy, bridge the regional digital divide, actively carry out human resource development and vocational skills training, and contribute to sustainable and inclusive development.

At the forum, the official website of the 2026 APEC Business Leaders Summit was officially released. Ren Hongbin said that this year is the third time China has hosted APEC, and it will also be the third time that the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade has led the organization of the APEC Business Leaders Summit. "We look forward to meeting with people from all walks of life in the Asia Pacific region in Shenzhen in November this year to discuss the overall plan for Asia Pacific business cooperation and development