The APEC Informal Senior Officials' Meeting was held in Shenzhen,?Guangdong, from December 11 to 12. This event—the first China held as the host of the 2026 APEC—marks the opening of the APEC “China Year.” Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu attended and addressed the meeting. Positive outcomes were achieved at the meeting.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun shared more information about the meeting and its outcomes on the regular press conference on December 12, 2025.
First, the meeting agreed on the theme for next year’s APEC cooperation. At the APEC meeting in Gyeongju, the ROK, President Xi Jinping noted that China stands ready to take the opportunity of hosting the 2026 APEC to bring all parties together to build an Asia-Pacific community, charting the course and providing fundamental guidance for China to host the APEC in 2026. The theme China proposed, “Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together,” was highly commended by various parties and adopted unanimously at the meeting.
Second, the meeting planned for priorities for next year's cooperation. In the face of new opportunities and new challenges to the development of the Asia-Pacific, China identified "openness, innovation and cooperation" as the three priorities for next year's APEC cooperation. Openness is the lifeline for Asia-Pacific's prosperity, innovation is its source of impetus and cooperation is its supporting basis. The three priorities meet the aspirations of various parties and represent the most extensive common ground for parties' participation in APEC, and thus were supported by participating parties of the meeting.
Third, the meeting finalized arrangement for the whole year’s events. There will be around 300 events to be hosted by multiple cities around China during the APEC “China Year.” From November 18 to 19 next year, the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be held in Shenzhen, and there will also be supporting events, including the APEC CEO Summit and the APEC Ministerial Meeting. In February, May and August next year, three senior officials’ meetings will be held in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Dalian respectively. Starting from May next year, about ten ministerial-level meetings and high-level events will be held in various places, covering areas of trade, digital economy, transport, tourism, human resources, small and medium-sized enterprises, energy, food security, finance and women. Various parties have expressed their support for the arrangement for the whole year’s events and their readiness to work for fruitful outcomes at the events.
Visiting activities were arranged during the meeting. Representatives to the meeting expressed their admiration for the modernization achievements in Shenzhen and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.