The Asia-Pacific region faces challenges no nation can tackle alone. Economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, climate change and the rapid advance of artificial intelligence transcend national borders. While countries may not agree on every issue, retreating into isolation is not a viable solution. As our world grows more complex, the need for dialogue and practical cooperation becomes increasingly vital.
Australia has a unique stake in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. In 1989, then Australian prime minister Bob Hawke proposed a new framework for regional economic cooperation, leading to the first APEC ministerial meeting in Canberra that year. His successor Paul Keating championed the idea that the Asia-Pacific was not just a collection of economies engaged in business, but a region capable of fostering a shared sense of purpose. He was instrumental in elevating APEC to the leaders' level in 1993.
Hawke and Keating recognized that regions are not simply defined by geography. They are also shaped by decisions about whom to engage with, what values to uphold, and what kind of future to envision together. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has the opportunity to continue this tradition. In a 2025 lecture on APEC, he explicitly revisited the legacy of both leaders.
However, the optimism surrounding globalization during their era cannot simply be reproduced today. Trade tensions, uneven development, environmental pressures and technological disruption require new forms of cooperation. Institutions must adapt to the current realities without abandoning the principles that give them purpose.
China's theme for APEC 2026 in Shenzhen, "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together", is especially timely. Its focus on openness, innovation and cooperation offers a useful framework. But it also raises an important question: How can we transform economic interdependence into a genuine sense of community?
While trade and investment are essential, a community cannot be measured only by the movement of goods and capital. It is also built through the exchange of people, ideas and experiences. We do not need to think alike or erase our differences. What we need is the curiosity and mutual respect that enable us to understand one another better and continue working together despite disagreements.
Symbols can play a role here. Xing Qiu and Yi Lan, the two giant pandas who arrived at Adelaide Zoo in late 2024, are testament to the friendship between China and Australia and their shared commitment to wildlife conservation. But no symbol can replace the relationships formed in classrooms, workplaces, cultural institutions, businesses and communities.
During my travels in China, I have noticed a growing number of international visitors. Official figures reinforce this observation: China recorded 11.6 million entries by foreign nationals in the third quarter of 2026, 15.6 percent more than a year earlier, with Australia among the top 10 source countries. China's 30-day visa waiver for eligible Australian visitors, extended through the end of 2026, has made this easier.
Australian figures also tell an encouraging story. Australian residents made approximately 744,000 short-term trips to China in 2025-26, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, Australia welcomed 1.13 million short-term visits from China, making China its second-largest source of visitors. Although this represents a substantial recovery, it remains below the roughly 1.43 million visits in 2018-19.
These numbers matter economically, but the most important outcomes are often intangible: conversations at a family dinner, friendships between students, or visitors discovering a community that challenges their assumptions. Travel can change how people see the world.
I am especially interested in educational tourism, also known as research or study tours. Through my work with the World Research Travel Organization, I have come to appreciate the value of learning through direct engagement with people, culture and nature. Such learning should not be limited to young people or formal classrooms; it is a lifelong possibility. A visit to a tea-growing community, for example, can be an opportunity to learn about livelihoods, ecological stewardship, history and the choices communities face. Visitors become active participants in learning, not merely spectators.
This suggests a practical agenda for APEC. Its Business Travel Card already shows how economies can cooperate to facilitate certain forms of travel. Why not extend similar policy attention to educational, cultural and community exchanges? APEC could encourage more transparent travel information, stronger university and vocational partnerships, reciprocal study visits, and direct links between regional communities and small businesses.
APEC's existing Tourism Working Group is a good starting point. In collaboration with APEC's education and human-resource networks, members could develop pilot programs linking educational tourism with cultural heritage, environmental learning and local enterprise. They could share lessons about safety, accessibility, digital information and how host communities benefit, measuring success not only by visitor spending but also by lasting partnerships and the quality of mutual learning.
These proposals do not require a uniform model. APEC's strength lies in dialogue and voluntary cooperation among diverse economies. The aim would be to make people-to-people exchange a more visible and sustained aspect of regional cooperation rather than a mere add-on.
The leaders gathering in Shenzhen face pressing questions. While high-level agreements chart the course, building an Asia-Pacific community extends far beyond the summit. It requires sustained momentum through the everyday efforts of meeting, listening, learning and cooperating. That is how this vision becomes a lived reality.
The author is a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
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