Framework for APEC collective actions planned

China is actively preparing for the outcomes of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders'Meeting in November by envisioning a road map for an Asia-Pacific community, and the country will deliver concrete outcomes in trade, connectivity, innovation and development, a senior diplomat said on Monday.

China is also working on establishing a cooperation framework for collective actions among APEC members, Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said at the opening session of the two-day Second Senior Officials' Meeting of APEC China 2026 in Shanghai.

The meeting aims to review the progress made so far, refine expected outcomes, consolidate early achievements and lay a solid foundation for events in the second half of the year.

This year marks the third time China is hosting the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, which will be held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. China hosted the meeting in Shanghai in 2001 and in Beijing in 2014.

The senior officials' meetings serve as the main channel for advancing APEC cooperation and preparing outcomes for the leaders' meeting. The first such meeting this year was held in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, in February, and the third will be in Dalian, Liaoning province, in August.

Ma noted that the world is currently fraught with change and turbulence, rising unilateralism and protectionism, the spillover of geopolitical conflicts and worsening energy and food crises, all of which have cast a shadow over global economic prospects.

However, he said that the Asia-Pacific region has maintained the momentum of relatively fast development, and its status as the world's growth engine has become even more prominent.

Calling for efforts to actively explore the pathway toward the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, Ma said that China will work toward a cooperation document on the FTAAP.

"We should ensure that the FTAAP serves as the main channel and carries out flexible and pragmatic cooperation by coordinating between different free trade pathways, and enhances the capacity of all parties to participate in high-standard regional economic and trade arrangements," he said.

China will also promote concrete outcomes in areas such as trade digitalization, and cooperation in the services sector, Ma said. Based on the final review of the APEC Connectivity Blueprint (2015-25), China will strive to formulate an upgraded blueprint, Ma added.

Santo Darmosumarto, director-general for Asia Pacific and African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, said that through the meetings, APEC members can see China's commitment toward strengthening the multilateral trading system.

Indonesia is very supportive of China as the host of APEC 2026, and will continue to support the vision of promoting stronger and freer trade cooperation in the region, he said.

Within APEC, the key for major economies is to work together to ensure that global conflicts and uncertainties do not severely affect the livelihoods and well-being of ordinary people, he added.

Jose Alberto Guadarrama Grimaldo, general director of planning and negotiation strategies and undersecretary at the Foreign Trade Ministry of Economy in Mexico, said that cooperation is very important to share best practices and to promote capacity building in order to create an integrated Asia-Pacific region.

Tan Khee Giap, chairman of the Singapore National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation, said that as calls for stronger regional economic cooperation continue to grow across the Asia-Pacific, the crucial task is to strengthen confidence in APEC as an inclusive platform.

zhoujin@chinadaily.com.cn