The first business event of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation's "China Year" was held in Indonesia

Jakarta, February 9th (Xinhua) - From February 7th to 9th, a Chinese business delegation led by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade presided over the first meeting of the 2026 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council in Jakarta, Indonesia. This is the first important business event of APEC's "China Year".

During the opening ceremony, Indonesian Minister of Economic Coordination, Elronga Hartato, highly appreciated the crucial role of the business community in promoting Asia Pacific regional cooperation. He wished the APEC "Year of China" a complete success and expressed his expectation to join forces with all parties to make an appointment in Shenzhen, injecting strong momentum into the common prosperity of the region.

Ambassador Chen Xu, Chairman of the 2026 APEC Senior Officials' Meeting, comprehensively introduced China's overall considerations for the "China Year" of APEC at the meeting, encouraging the Business Advisory Council to focus on practical cooperation and contribute high-quality results to the Leaders' Meeting.

During the conference, representatives from the Asia Pacific business community had in-depth exchanges on four key areas: regional economic integration, sustainable development, digital innovation, and connectivity. They put forward multiple constructive proposals and identified "openness, connectivity, and synergy" as the annual theme, calling on the Asia Pacific region to maintain market openness, accelerate economic integration, and strengthen innovation cooperation. At the meeting, the connectivity working group proposed by the Chinese side for restoration received widespread support from all parties.

It is understood that as the only permanent body representing the business community in the APEC mechanism, the Business Advisory Council shoulders the important mission of conveying the voice of the business community and contributing practical solutions to the leaders' meeting. More than 200 people, including senior officials, representatives of the Business Advisory Council, incoming representatives, and experts from 21 APEC economies, attended the meeting.