On Saturday, China announced that member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) agreed at this year's meeting of ministers responsible for trade to adopt a joint statement and approved a new roadmap for the development of the services sector.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said at a press conference that all 21 APEC member economies participated in the two-day meeting in Suzhou, eastern China. He said this demonstrates broad support for regional economic cooperation in a time of growing global uncertainties.

The joint statement will be called the Suzhou Statement, Wang Wentao added. He also said that representatives from APEC observer economies and officials from international organizations, including the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, also attended the meeting.

The main theme of the meeting was "Building an Asia-Pacific Community for Shared Prosperity." Delegates discussed strengthening an open and predictable regional and multilateral trading system, as well as promoting new drivers of innovative trade and investment cooperation.

According to Wang Wentao, participants also reaffirmed their support for the long-term vision of creating a free trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region. They also pledged to work together on reforming the World Trade Organization and promoting digital and green trade.

The year 2026 is designated as the "China Year" within APEC. Its three priorities are openness, innovation, and cooperation. The goal is to translate the vision of an Asia-Pacific community into concrete steps and to better respond to new opportunities and challenges in regional development.

According to Wang Wentao, this framework has received broad support from member economies. The meeting in Suzhou, therefore, reaffirmed APEC's commitment to strengthening economic cooperation, developing trade in services, and finding common answers to the changing conditions of the global economy.

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