China boosts shared prosperity in Asia-Pacific

The first five months of 2026 have seen intensified geopolitical rivalries and a turbulent global economy. To ensure businesses operate smoothly, major countries should take responsibility for stabilizing both regional and global markets.

As the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 2026, China is working to inject stability and foster consensus for regional prosperity. Under the theme "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together", China has prioritized openness, innovation and cooperation to advance the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

Around 2017, China shifted its focus toward the Asia-Pacific region. This pivot shaped a new economic landscape characterized by closer ties and a stronger emphasis on regional integration.

That year, China's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries crossed a record $500 billion.

In the following years, through the Belt and Road Initiative, APEC, the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and the signing of the China-ASEAN FTA 3.0 Upgrade Protocol, China has steered neighboring countries toward a new consensus. A standout result is that ASEAN became China's largest trading partner in 2020, while China has remained the association's largest trading partner since 2009.

Four years after its implementation, the RCEP has significantly impacted China's trade landscape. By 2025, China's trade with the other RCEP members reached $1.9 trillion, accounting for 44.2 percent of the country's total foreign trade growth and underscoring the agreement's role in fostering regional cooperation.

China's high-tech exports grew by 13.2 percent, with exports of specialized equipment, high-end machine tools, and industrial robots increasing by 20.6 percent, 21.5 percent and 48.7 percent respectively. This reflects China's growing export focus on high-end technology and advanced productive forces.

China is also steering sustainable growth in the Asia-Pacific through its green transition. In 2024, Asia accounted for 72 percent of the world's newly installed renewable energy capacity.

In 2025, Asia attracted 65 percent of global investment in solar, 64 percent in wind, and 41 percent in battery sectors, propelling the global shift toward clean energy.

China's role is pivotal; in 2025, its clean energy capacity reached 2.4 billion kilowatts, about 45 percent of the global total. In just five years, its combined installed wind and solar capacity has surged from 530 million to 1.84 billion kilowatts.

Global energy transition investment reached a record $2.3 trillion in 2025, with the Asia-Pacific region leading the charge at 47 percent of the total. Although China's investment dipped slightly due to lower equipment costs, it continued to be the world's largest single market.

Emerging markets, particularly those in Southeast Asia, are also key drivers of the global energy transition. Vietnam's energy transition investment has exceeded $10 billion, while Indonesia's electric vehicle and energy storage markets are rapidly expanding.

Within the RCEP region, EV trade grew by 45.2 percent year-on-year, and exports of green products such as wind turbines and electric railway locomotives doubled, highlighting the significant green transformation fueled by regional cooperation.

However, Asia's energy transition still faces challenges such as reliance on fossil fuels and insufficient power grid infrastructure.

Li Baosen, deputy secretary-general of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization, notes that China's cooperation models and technical support can help address developmental disparities across the region.

By supplying photovoltaic cells, new energy vehicles, smart grids, and energy storage solutions, China is aiding regional and global decarbonization. The energy crisis sparked by the US-Iran conflict further underscored the foresight in China's new energy initiatives.

China is propelling regional smart development. In 2025, its trade with ASEAN surpassed $1 trillion — a milestone driven by both enormous shared development needs and vibrant opportunities in the digital and green economies and other emerging fields. China's expertise in 5G, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence aligns with ASEAN countries' needs for industrial upgrading.

Their cross-border e-commerce has maintained over 20 percent growth for years. The China-ASEAN FTA 3.0 Upgrade Protocol now includes the digital economy, enabling Chinese digital and new energy companies to deepen their presence in ASEAN markets. This supports collaboration in cloud infrastructure, AI and fintech, and promotes the integration of industry and supply chains.

China's regional AI cooperation has also yielded impressive results. At the 2025 SCO Summit in Tianjin, Beijing systematically outlined a strategic direction and pathways for regional AI cooperation and offered an SCO solution for global AI governance. As China and ASEAN strengthen ties in cross-border data flows, digital payments, and smart cities, a closely integrated digital economy community is emerging.

Consensus-building is inseparable from people-to-people exchanges, with tourism playing a crucial role. In 2025, China saw a record 697 million inbound and outbound crossings, while inbound trips reached 154 million, driven by incentives such as visa-free policies for 48 countries and expanded departure tax refunds.

Tourism between China and Asia-Pacific countries is advancing across five dimensions: scale, policy, technology, consumption structure, and regional coordination, aiming for high-quality, resilient, and integrated development.

RCEP and APEC have facilitated tourism by increasing flight routes and enhancing joint marketing, boosting visitor flows. Meanwhile, technology, particularly AI, is transforming the tourism service ecosystem by improving booking, personalized guidance, and other services.

Through economic cooperation organizations, advanced new energy technologies, innovative digital economy initiatives, and open tourism policies, China is injecting stability into the Asia-Pacific region on multiple fronts.

The author is the chairman of the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China.

The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

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