The key facts

  • The APEC summit will take place in Shenzhen on November 18–19; China is hosting the forum for the third time (after 2001 and 2014)
  • China's Foreign Ministry said it seeks to agree on the Shenzhen Declaration of leaders and practical outcomes on trade, connectivity, the digital economy and AI
  • The 2026 forum theme is 'Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together'; APEC unites 21 economies accounting for over 60% of global GDP

Beijing seeks consensus on the summit declaration

China expects that the upcoming APEC summit will make it possible to agree on the Shenzhen Declaration of leaders and to achieve practical outcomes in key areas. This was announced by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Friday, a week before the opening of the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, which will be held in Shenzhen on November 18–19.

Expectations for the forum

According to Mao Ning, Beijing hopes to 'reach further consensus' on the declaration among all participating economies, as well as to obtain 'more practical outcomes' in areas such as trade, connectivity, the digital economy and artificial intelligence, in order to give impetus to the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and the world. This year's forum theme is 'Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together.'

Scale and significance of the venue

For China, this is the first APEC summit in 12 years: the country previously hosted the forum in 2001 and 2014. APEC, established in 1989, unites 21 economies, including China, the United States, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. The forum accounts for more than 60% of global GDP and about 40% of the world's population, which makes agreement on the final declaration significant for the global trade agenda. No details about the content of the declaration or the list of participants at the highest level have been disclosed so far.