China will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Nov 18 and 19,2026, in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Ahead of the meeting, a global youth opinion survey by China Daily collected 202 valid responses from people aged 18 to 35, including 92 from the Chinese mainland and 110 from 38 other economies, both within and beyond APEC.
The survey shows that young people place high value on regional connectivity, pointing to an opportunity to better connect their enthusiasm with the institutions that advance it. Their responses also suggest what would make regional cooperation meaningful to them — better employment prospects, ways to navigate technological change, and cross-border opportunities in education and employment.
Young people appear to want a more connected Asia-Pacific, and the survey reveals strong support for regional integration.
An overwhelming 94.6 percent of respondents considered connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region important, while 34.7 percent expressed familiarity with APEC. This highlights an opportunity for deeper engagement: young people highly value connectivity, and there is potential to help them better understand how it is built.
How young people encounter international affairs may help explain this phenomenon. The survey found that 60.9 percent of respondents learned about APEC through social media or short-video platforms, compared with just 19.8 percent through government or official APEC channels.
Consider the "China Travel" videos shared by overseas content creators in recent years. They capture bustling late-night barbecue stalls, convenient high-speed rail services and unmanned stores in smaller Chinese cities and counties.
These short clips turn the abstract concept of "connectivity" into something tangible: "I can go there."
That is the strength of social media: It can translate an abstract idea about regional connectivity into an experience that feels immediate and personal.
Social media works best as a starting point. Short videos often offer quick, engaging glimpses that spark curiosity, while professional media outlets and educational institutions can provide the deeper context and expertise needed to fully understand how international cooperation works.
Understanding regional cooperation is only the first step. Young people also want to know what it can do for their lives. On that question, the survey points repeatedly toward employment.
Some 78.2 percent of respondents identified employment opportunities and job quality as important concerns. Meanwhile, 63.9 percent expressed concern about artificial intelligence, particularly its potential impact on job displacement and heightened competition.
Their views on AI reflect both caution and a desire for cooperation. Some 70.8 percent supported stronger cooperation on AI governance, suggesting that young people want both protection against potential risks and opportunities to adapt to technological change.
The survey also found that 50.9 percent of respondents saw greater access to cross-border education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities as the most direct benefit of regional connectivity.
This helps explain why broad visions of regional integration become meaningful only when they translate into practical opportunities.
For a young student or job seeker, the most meaningful outcome of regional cooperation may come down to answers to practical questions such as: Can I study there? Can I work there? Will the skills I have spent years acquiring still count when I cross a border?
These questions do not necessarily have the same answer for every young person. One of the survey's other notable findings was that respondents' priorities varied more across economies than across age groups.
Respondents from the Chinese mainland placed greater emphasis on support for small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurship. This may reflect a highly competitive job market: starting a business can offer an alternative to conventional employment — a chance to create their own jobs rather than compete for existing ones.
Young people seeking opportunities across borders, however, could benefit from mutual recognition of qualifications: academic degrees and professional qualifications may not carry the same value elsewhere.
These differences matter, and this is where APEC can play a key role. By addressing both the shared aspirations and the diverse needs of young people, regional cooperation can transform these expectations into tangible benefits.
Ultimately, its success will be reflected in the opportunities it creates in young people's everyday lives.
Written by Gou He, an associate professor and master's supervisor at the School of Journalism and New Media, Xi'an Jiaotong University, in Shaanxi province. In recent years, she has collaborated with media organizations and research institutions on several large-scale surveys in China and overseas, exploring how Generation Z views the changing global landscape and China, as well as the international reach and impact of China's emerging cultural exports, collectively known as the "new trio" — online literature, online games and micro-dramas.
