China
to Host 2026 APEC Summit in Shenzhen; Xi Pledges to Boost AI Cooperation
President Xi Jinping makes the
announcement as world leaders wrap up this year’s summit in South Korea
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China
will host the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Shenzhen
next November. The announcement came as world leaders concluded this year’s
summit in Gyeongju, South Korea.
Xi said China would leverage its role as host to
promote regional growth, prosperity, and cooperation — particularly in artificial
intelligence (AI) and the digital economy. He highlighted Shenzhen’s
transformation from a fishing village into a global tech hub and its role
within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, which he
described as a major driver of global economic growth.
This will mark China’s third time hosting
APEC, following Shanghai (2001) and Beijing (2014).
During the closing ceremony, Xi urged members to
uphold multilateralism, stabilize supply chains, and address
shared challenges such as climate change and energy security. He
emphasized that AI development must be “beneficial, safe, and fair.”
On the sidelines of the summit, Xi met with several
leaders, including Canada’s Mark Carney, Japan’s Sanae Takaichi, and Thailand’s Anutin
Charnvirakul, and was scheduled to meet South
Korean President Lee Jae-myung later on Saturday.
Xi’s visit to South Korea — his first since 2014 —
also included a high-profile meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in
Busan on Thursday, where the two agreed to ease tensions and reached trade-related
breakthroughs. Trump did not attend the APEC forum itself; the U.S. was
represented by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
China
will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in its southern city
of Shenzhen in November next year.
The
announcement was made on Saturday by Chinese President Xi Jinping as world leaders
wrapped up this year’s Apec meeting, held in the South Korean city of Gyeongju.
Xi,
who was speaking at a handover ceremony, said China would use its role as next year’s
Apec host to work with countries to promote growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific
region.
China,
he said, would “vigorously” push for cooperation in areas including artificial intelligence
(AI) and the digital economy.
“Located
on the Pacific coast and adjacent to Hong Kong, Shenzhen has transformed from a
backward fishing village into a modern international metropolis in just a few decades,”
Xi said.
“Together
with surrounding areas, it forms the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area,
which can be considered a growth pole of the world economy.”
It
will be the third time for China to host the Apec forum. It first hosted the event
in Shanghai in 2001, then Beijing in 2014.
Shenzhen
is one of nine cities in China’s Guangdong province that make up the Greater Bay
Area, which also includes the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
Beijing
has in recent years sought to transform the Greater Bay Area in hopes of turning
it into a world-class economic and innovation hub.
The
handover ceremony on Saturday marked an end to the two-day forum, during which the
Chinese leader urged world leaders to safeguard multilateralism and ensure supply
chain stability.
Earlier
on Saturday, in a separate address, the Chinese leader warned of intensifying challenges
such as climate change and energy security, calling for regional economies to deepen
cooperation and “seize new opportunities”.
Xi
said countries should promote the “sound and orderly development of AI while ensuring
that it is beneficial, safe and fair”.
Xi,
who arrived in South Korea on Thursday, also held talks with world leaders on the
sidelines of the forum, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Japanese
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Thai Prime Minister
Anutin Charnvirakul.
He
is set to cap his three-day visit to South Korea – his first since 2014 – with a
meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Saturday afternoon.
On
Thursday, ahead of the Apec forum, Xi had his first in-person meeting with US President
Donald Trump since the American leader returned to the White House earlier this
year. The two leaders agreed to de-escalate heightened tensions, yielding breakthroughs
on issues ranging from soybeans to fentanyl. Trump hailed the meeting as a “great
success”.
Trump
skipped the Apec meeting, with the US represented by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.