Gyeongju: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders, who met in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, for the 32nd APEC Meeting, recognized the urgent need to strengthen cooperation in a context of trade tensions, economic sluggishness, and uncertainties that undermine global stability. Promoting economic growth and shared prosperity requires strengthening trade and supply chains. Connectivity among the 21 APEC economies needs to be sustained to ensure that the bloc can continue to play a leading role in global growth.
According to Burkina Information Agency, China, which will host the 2026 APEC Meeting in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, marked its participation in the Gyeongju Meeting with concrete proposals. While stressing APEC’s role as a catalyst for economic growth, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on all APEC members to further unlock the potential of digital and smart development to give the region a new advantage through innovation.
New technologies offer enormous opportunities that should be exploited wisely in order to inject new energy into traditional industries. The development of artificial intelligence should benefit from the common attention of all so that it can thrive in a healthy, supervised, and beneficial environment. It is with this in mind that China has proposed the creation of a Global Organization for Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence to provide the international community with public goods in this field.
Among other things, he was called upon to promote global governance by supporting multilateralism at all levels. The current configuration of the world requires that the interests of all countries, large or small, rich or poor, be taken into account.
In Gyeongju, President Xi Jinping announced that China will host the 33rd Meeting in November 2026 in Shenzhen, a symbol of China’s economic development. From a modest fishing village to a global metropolis, Shenzhen embodies the narrative of China’s high-quality development and opening-up. In four decades of development, its GDP has grown dramatically, from 270 million yuan (about 38 million U.S. dollars) in 1980 to 3.68 trillion yuan (about 518 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024.
Shenzhen is the standard-bearer of technological innovation in China. Its manufacturing industry is joining forces with the industrial Internet revolution. Its logistics networks connect the world, and bold ideas take root in them to become thriving businesses. With the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting to be hosted next year, Shenzhen will raise awareness of its high-quality development model to the world. In general, China will work with various parties to build an Asia-Pacific community and promote growth and prosperity in the region. It pledged to foster pragmatic cooperation in areas such as FTAAP, connectivity, digital economy, and AI, and bring greater vitality and momentum to the development of the Asia-Pacific.