Strengthening policy coordination and sustaining steady economic growth in the Asia-Pacific have become an urgent and formidable test for all economies in the region

The first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Senior Officials' Meeting and related events, held on Feb 10 in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, marked the inaugural event of the APEC "China Year".

Over the past five years — coinciding with China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) — regional economic cooperation across the Asia-Pacific has made remarkable strides. Customs statistics show that during this period, the total import and export value of goods trade between China and other APEC economies reached 125.49 trillion yuan ($18.19 trillion), representing an increase of 39.4 percent over the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20). In 2025 alone, such trade stood at 26.29 trillion yuan, accounting for 57.82 percent of China's total foreign trade that year. In terms of trade structure, China's exports to these economies are concentrated in high-tech products, including lithium-ion batteries, photovoltaic products and electric vehicles. Intermediate goods make up nearly half of these exports, forging stable industry chains in sectors such as electronics, automobiles and machinery — one defined by the model of "made in China, assembled across APEC and sold globally". Meanwhile, China's imports from these economies are mainly energy products, agricultural commodities, semiconductor equipment and precision instruments. This two-way high-tech trade growth reflects China's upgrading trend within regional supply chains — shifting from "processing and manufacturing" to "R&D, manufacturing and services".

Currently, China is continuously expanding market opportunities with other APEC economies. Supply chain connectivity is advancing steadily; regional logistics networks are being refined; and the southern extension of the China-Europe Railway Express is accelerating. Through diversified layouts, it connects with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' rail network, fostering deeper integration of regional industry chains. China is also actively enhancing trade facilitation with other APEC economies and upgrading the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to Version 3.0. Key measures include tariff reductions and rule alignment to cut trade costs, expanded mutual recognition of Authorized Economic Operators, shorter customs clearance times, lower inspection rates and compliance costs, digitalized trade documents, and improved customs efficiency for cross-border e-commerce. Additionally, mutual recognition of inspection and quarantine standards in sectors such as agricultural products and electronics further eliminates redundant testing and reduces costs.

China's contributions not only offer long-term institutional guarantees for regional trade and investment liberalization but also lay a solid foundation for the future of APEC cooperation. However, as is widely acknowledged, the current international political and economic landscape is experiencing profound shifts, and Asia-Pacific cooperation confronts a host of challenges.

First, the global economic and power centers are shifting, with multipolarity gaining increasing momentum. The existing international political order, which has long been sustained largely through major-power coordination, is coming under growing strain. Some former advocates of globalization are now resorting to anti-globalization tactics, while trade protectionism and unilateralism — under the guise of "domestic priorities" — are on the rise. This trend undoubtedly adds pressure and uncertainty to global economic growth.

Second, against the backdrop of the new wave of technological and industrial revolution, emerging economies such as China have delivered robust performance, serving as role models for developing economies worldwide. Endowed with technological advancements, the abundant human resources of emerging economies hold tremendous potential for release. Recognizing this, developed economies in Europe and North America, in their pursuit of maintaining technological dominance, frequently impose stringent technological blockades and controls on their developing counterparts under the pretext of national security. This practice has exerted a profound impact on cultural and technological exchanges, personnel mobility and the goods trade within the Asia-Pacific region. Furthermore, certain major powers have promoted concepts such as "nearshoring" and "friendshoring" under the banner of shared values, which has to a certain extent distorted industry and supply chains in the Asia-Pacific region.

Third, Western countries are increasingly exhibiting "inadequate capacity", "lack of willingness", and "absence of responsibility" in global governance. While this scenario creates opportunities for emerging economies to participate in and reform the global governance system, it has also plunged long-standing multilateral mechanisms — including the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization — into unprecedented predicaments.

In response to these challenges, APEC should strive to build an open, interconnected, innovation-driven, green, inclusive and resilience-sharing Asia-Pacific community, with high-quality regional cooperation to counter global uncertainties and achieve shared prosperity.

First, Asia-Pacific economic cooperation requires collective action and synergy among all economies. Balancing strategic vision with pragmatic pathways, APEC should advance the vision of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, promote convergence among regional cooperation frameworks such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, strengthen the authority of the multilateral trading system, mitigate regional trade and investment barriers as well as fragmentation risks, and jointly elevate the institutional openness to new heights.

Second, it is imperative to accelerate the synergy between digital and green technologies, bridge the digital and technological divides among economies, foster new productive forces such as artificial intelligence, cross-border e-commerce and green manufacturing, and ensure that the dividends of innovation benefit small and medium-sized enterprises and less-developed economies, thereby constructing an innovation-driven growth ecosystem.

Third, efforts should focus on extending, stabilizing and consolidating regional industry and supply chains, deepening physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity, translating cooperation blueprints into tangible projects, promoting green transition and inclusive finance, prioritizing livelihoods and SMEs, and enhancing the resilience and inclusiveness of cooperation.

Fourth, leveraging tools such as green supply chain networks, climate investment and financing and clean energy cooperation, APEC economies should jointly tackle global challenges including climate change and public health, seeking to achieve a win-win scenario of economic growth and sustainable development and forging a sustainable development community.

China will continue to leverage APEC as a core platform to align its policies with high-standard international trade and economic rules, and enhance its foreign trade regulatory system. By aligning rules, promoting the mutual recognition of standards and enhancing connectivity, China will shift its foreign trade from pursuing scale expansion to quality enhancement, and further strengthen its role and responsibility within Asia-Pacific supply chains.

The author is an associate research fellow at the Institute of World Economics and Politics and the National Institute for Global Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.