China will host the first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Senior Officials’ Meeting and related events from February 1 to 10, marking the opening of the APEC “China Year” as the country prepares to convene the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November.
Speaking at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said more than 50 events will be held during the meeting period in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong province. Around 1,000 representatives from APEC member economies, the APEC Secretariat and the APEC Business Advisory Council are expected to attend.
Guo noted that preparations for the meetings are progressing smoothly. He said the APEC Senior Officials’ Meetings, held four to five times annually, are the primary mechanism for coordinating and shaping outcomes to be submitted to the leaders’ meeting, which will take place later this year in Shenzhen, another major city in Guangdong province.
As agreed by all APEC members, the theme for APEC in 2026 is “Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together.” To advance this vision, the APEC “China Year” has identified openness, innovation and cooperation as its three core priorities.
According to Guo, the upcoming meeting will center on the agreed theme and priorities, fully launch cooperation across APEC’s various fields and mechanisms, and hold in-depth discussions on concrete cooperation initiatives. The goal, he said, is to accumulate substantive outcomes and consensus for consideration by economic leaders in November.
Guo also highlighted Guangzhou’s role as host city, describing it as a city with a long history and an important gateway to understanding China’s reform and opening-up. He added that Guangzhou is a core hub of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, one of China’s most dynamic economic regions.
“We welcome friends from the media to follow and actively report on the first senior officials’ meeting and related events, and to share the stories of the APEC ‘China Year’ with the world,” Guo said.
China joined APEC in 1991 and has since positioned itself as a strong advocate of regional cooperation. This year’s leaders’ meeting will be China’s third time hosting the event, following meetings in Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014. Those gatherings produced key outcomes, including the Shanghai Accord and the Beijing Roadmap, which helped shape APEC’s long-term development.
From Shanghai to Beijing and now Shenzhen, China’s role on the APEC stage has continued to expand, underscoring its support for multilateralism and regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific.
