Restorative process

APEC ministerial meeting can help revive confidence in regional economic integration and globalization

The 32nd APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting takes place in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, on Friday and Saturday. It serves as a key preparatory session for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, scheduled to be held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in November. The meeting comes against the backdrop marked by last year’s tariff war launched by the United States, and the US-Israeli war against Iran, which has produced intense shocks to energy markets and global supply chains.

The current international situation is arguably the most volatile and uncertain since the end of the Cold War. Regional conflicts and disputes are flaring up. Trade protectionism in the name of economic security is spreading. And confidence in the post-World War II multilateral global governance framework has been severely shaken.

In these times of compounding turmoil, Asia-Pacific economies need to return to APEC’s founding mission and reaffirm their confidence in regional economic integration and globalization. As President Xi Jinping emphasized at the 2025 APEC meetings in Gyeongju, the Republic of Korea: “We should stay true to APEC’s founding mission to promote economic growth and improve people’s lives.” As the world’s second-largest economy, China is the top trading partner of nearly all APEC members. Its rapid development model illustrates how opening-up and shared growth with other economies can work. China has economic and trade ties with almost all countries and regions worldwide, pursuing equal and mutually beneficial development under World Trade Organization principles. It has achieved remarkable success through openness, inclusiveness and sharing.

China is willing to share its development opportunities with other countries. It is hosting the APEC meetings for the third time, which is testament to its commitment to development through opening-up and sends a strong message that it continues to uphold free trade and inclusive development.

This year also marks the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period. The country will make moves to expand its openness and strengthen its global economic connectivity. With high-quality development goals in place, China’s market will expand in scale and improve in quality, offering a counterweight to the sluggish growth trend in international trade, especially for the Asia-Pacific region. China is the world’s second-largest consumer market and import market, at nearly 50 trillion yuan ($7.35 trillion) and about 20 trillion yuan, respectively. Rising incomes, expanding demand and consumption upgrading will provide sustained momentum for regional economic integration.

As a major economic powerhouse, Jiangsu province has benefited from China’s opening-up drive and its integration into the world economy. According to statistics from customs authorities, the province’s foreign trade volume reached 5.95 trillion yuan in 2025, accounting for 13.1 percent of China’s total. And in the first two months of this year alone, Suzhou’s total imports and exports surged by 27.3 percent to 514.51 billion yuan, accounting for 6.7 percent of the national total and 49.8 percent of Jiangsu province’s total. In short, Jiangsu province and Suzhou exemplify China’s open economy and the country’s steady push toward institutional opening-up and international cooperation in the new era.

The APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in Suzhou can help channel positive energy into trade frictions management through equal consultation, and prevent normal economic activities from being overly politicized or securitized. In recent years, there have been growing claims that economic globalization and interdependence undermine national security and harm domestic economies. In the name of economic security, some economies have adopted various legislative measures and investment restrictions, leading to a decline in cross-border investment and rising risks facing industry and supply chains. These protectionist measures, in essence, reduce economic efficiency and dampen confidence in free trade and investment.

Yet the process of economic globalization will not be stopped, nor reversed. The current international economic turbulence reflects a deeper transition in global trade rules and order. As core stakeholders, Asia-Pacific economies must shoulder the responsibility of improving those rules and order. Just as in international politics, disputes and differences among countries are normal. Trade frictions and disputes are not inherently fearsome; the key lies in how they are handled. During complex transitions, destructive factors — such as erecting walls and barriers — are on the rise. But constructive forces are also at work, building consensus, strengthening connectivity, and countering fragmentation and bloc formation through integration. The former are driven by short-term self-interest; the latter are rooted in long-term strategic planning.

The APEC trade ministers’ meeting in Suzhou can answer a long-term strategic question: What kind of trade and economic order should the Asia-Pacific region build? The Asia-Pacific economies vary greatly in size, systems, cultures and development levels. Their achievements in economic development and integration have been built on the principles of equality, inclusiveness and mutual benefit. In 2025, China initiated and promoted the establishment of the International Organization for Mediation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, offering an Asia-Pacific solution and wisdom for resolving international trade disputes.

As the host of this year’s APEC meetings, China will rally efforts toward the ambitious goal of building an Asia-Pacific community. Faced with rising protectionism, Asia-Pacific economies cannot afford to merely worry about the global outlook or retreat into self-protection. Instead, they must work to solidify consensus and prevent the region’s trade order from sliding into the law of the jungle.

The theme for the APEC “China Year” is “Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together”. This is about answering the question of where the Asia-Pacific is heading. Setting the goal of building an Asia-Pacific community will provide clear direction and stability for regional development. As Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated at the APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting in Guangzhou in February, “China will focus on the three priorities of openness, innovation and cooperation”, and “we should reaffirm the original aspirations of Asia-Pacific cooperation, focus on the future of APEC and work toward a clear, substantive outcome document at this year’s leaders’ meeting”, holding high “the banner of building an Asia-Pacific community, and exploring objectives and a road map for community-building in the period ahead”.

The APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in Suzhou and the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen will play a critical role in restoring confidence and effectively helping reform the multilateral trade governance system across the Asia-Pacific region and the wider international community.

The author is a professor at the School of International Studies at Nanjing University.

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.