Editor's note: Qian Haoqi, a special commentator for CGTN, is an associate professor and an associate dean at the Institute for Global Public Policy. He is also an assistant director at the MOE Laboratory for National Development and Intelligent Governance under Fudan University, Shanghai. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in China’s tech hub Shenzhen on November 18-19, preceded by the APEC CEO Summit on November 17-18, will bring leaders and business representatives from across the Asia‑Pacific together amid rising global uncertainty. As cross‑border risks continue to mount, the idea that we are all “in the same boat" has deepened across the region. This analogy first gained traction at the 2018 APEC meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, when the leaders convened on the Pacific Explorer cruise ship. Faced with overlapping challenges, Asia‑Pacific economies can navigate turbulent waters only through joint planning and cooperation. The meetings in Shenzhen offer a timely opportunity for the region to hold the rudder together.

Shared vulnerabilities across the Pacific

The Asia‑Pacific faces a set of interconnected challenges that have no national borders. Extreme heat and weather events in recent years have disrupted production at electronics and auto parts plants in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. Severe flooding in southern Thailand in 2025 disrupted cross‑border logistics and industrial production. Thailand, the world's largest natural‑rubber exporter, saw output cuts that raised raw material costs for tire and auto manufacturers across China and other APEC economies. The floods also shut down key overland shipping routes to Malaysia, delaying component deliveries and spreading pressure to downstream assembly networks across the Pacific.

Such cross-border spillovers are hard to contain through national policies alone, and the rising calls for de-risking and industrial decoupling have made the task even harder. These natural disasters illustrate how quickly localized shocks spread through tightly integrated supply chains. Many economies have learned that go-it-alone strategies cannot deliver lasting stability. These common risks make clear the core logic of the "same boat" analogy: The region's fortunes are intertwined. When one part struggles, the whole vessel feels the strain.

APEC, a platform for coordinated collective action

APEC brings together 21 member economies across the Asia-Pacific. Together, they account for roughly 62% of global GDP, nearly 40% of the world's population, and around half of global trade. This scale means coordinated action within the bloc carries significant global economic weight, making the forum a critical platform for tackling shared cross-border challenges. It offers a regular channel for members to align views and translate shared understanding into practical action. Its value lies not only in advancing trade liberalization and facilitation, but also in building consensus on long‑term regional priorities.

One is energy security. At the 2026 Energy Ministerial Meeting, APEC members adopted the APEC Non-Binding Principles for Promoting Energy Security Synergy, establishing coordinated frameworks for emergency response, supply diversification and infrastructure resilience. On trade and supply chain connectivity, the APEC Initiative on Customs Technology and Innovation streamlines aligned clearance procedures to cut transit times, while the APEC Framework for Cooperation on Trade Digitalization harmonizes paperless trade standards to reduce cross-border frictions.

Instead of each economy setting rules in isolation, the platform creates space to balance varied national conditions while moving toward shared goals. Such coordination strengthens the resilience of the whole region, turning separate national responses into a more coherent regional strategy.

Openness as foundation of shared progress

APEC's founding mission centers on economic cooperation; however, being "in the same boat" rests on a more fundamental principle: openness. Openness unlocks shared opportunities, while isolation leaves economies trapped in self‑imposed constraints. This logic has run consistently through China's vision for Asia‑Pacific cooperation.

China has long championed open development within the APEC framework. Back in 2013, it pledged to pursue a more proactive opening-up strategy and build an open economy featuring mutual benefit, diversified balance, security and efficiency. More recently, China has shortened its foreign investment negative list and put in place unilateral visa exemption or full mutual visa waiver arrangements with 76 countries worldwide. These steps deliver tangible proof of its commitment to keep markets open and connections flowing.

Such openness underpins the region's collective resilience. When members keep markets open, lower barriers and maintain connectivity, they expand room for industrial coordination, knowledge exchange and inclusive growth. This is how the APEC community turns the idea of solidarity into real, shared gains for all economies aboard the Pacific vessel.

The Shenzhen meetings will open a new chapter for Asia-Pacific cooperation amid global headwinds, centered on the shared goal of building an Asia-Pacific community of common prosperity. Guided by the spirit of being "in the same boat," members are expected to uphold openness, deepen coordination on supply chain resilience, green transition and digital innovation, and translate consensus into tangible, long-term progress. With collective efforts, the Pacific vessel will sail steadily toward inclusive, sustainable and shared prosperity for all economies in the region.

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