From joining APEC to hosting it again, China deepens Asia-Pacific ties

Three decades after joining the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, China is preparing to host the regional gathering for a third time, with November's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen set to mark another stage in its evolving engagement with the Asia-Pacific.

China became an APEC member in 1991, joining a forum created two years earlier as the region's economies became increasingly interdependent. Since then, its economic development has become closely intertwined with regional growth, while its participation in APEC has expanded from engagement in trade and investment to cooperation on connectivity, innovation and sustainable development.

The first major milestone came in 2001, when China hosted APEC for the first time in Shanghai. Held under the theme "Meeting New Challenges in the New Century," the leaders' meeting placed emphasis on participation, cooperation, trade and investment, reflecting the region's search for new sources of growth at the beginning of the 21st century.

Thirteen years later, APEC returned to China, with Beijing hosting the 2014 leaders' meeting. The gathering produced a series of outcomes on economic integration and innovative development, including a roadmap for advancing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific and an accord on innovative development, economic reform and growth.

The progression from 2001 to 2014 also reflected a broader change in China's role in the regional economy. As trade, investment and production networks deepened across the Asia-Pacific, China increasingly placed regional connectivity and economic integration at the center of its APEC engagement, linking its own development with wider opportunities for cooperation.

That relationship has since become more economically substantial. Trade between China and other APEC economies reached 26.29 trillion yuan ($3.67 trillion) in 2025, accounting for nearly 60% of China's total foreign trade, according to Chinese official data.

The emphasis on regional cooperation has also broadened as new challenges have emerged. Digitalization, artificial intelligence, green development and supply-chain connectivity have joined traditional trade and investment issues on the APEC agenda, creating new areas for economies to seek common ground.

For 2026, China has proposed the theme "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together," with openness, innovation and cooperation as the three priorities. The agenda includes advancing trade and investment cooperation, promoting innovation and strengthening regional economic integration.

The theme builds on ideas China has advanced through successive APEC gatherings while placing them in the context of a rapidly changing regional economy. At this year's meetings, digital technologies and AI have already featured prominently, with APEC economies adopting a ministerial statement on using digital technologies and AI to support regional development.

The next milestone will come in Shenzhen, where APEC Economic Leaders' Week is scheduled for November 18-19. As the host economy prepares to welcome leaders from across the region, China's engagement with APEC is moving into another chapter, one shaped by an increasingly integrated Asia-Pacific and by the principle that China's own development remains closely connected to that of its regional neighbors.

That relationship was described through a metaphor comparing China and the Asia-Pacific to a sweet potato: its vines may extend in all directions, but its roots remain firmly planted in the soil from which it grows. The analogy underscored a simple idea that continues to frame China's participation in the regional forum – as China develops, it remains rooted in the Asia-Pacific and seeks to contribute to the region's development and prosperity.