A Beijing-based globalization think tank chief researcher on Tuesday called on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) regional economic forum to better fight protectionism and enhance open sci-tech cooperation to effectively align innovation resources.
The 32nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Gyeongju of South Korea from Friday to Saturday.
The theme of APEC 2025 is "Building a Sustainable Tomorrow: Connect, Innovate, Prosper".
The latest projections from the International Monetary Fund show that the Asia-Pacific's economy is expected to grow 4.5 percent this year. However, the growth is expected to slow down to 4.1 percent in 2026 amid the negative impacts of tariffs.
For APEC to build a sustainable tomorrow, it is important to really establish common ground on a mechanism for fighting protectionism, said Li Yong, chief researcher with D and C Think Tank, a Beijing-based think tank focusing on studies of globalization and global governance.
Li called for efforts from APEC in creating a support system to help developing countries in the region upgrade their economy and infrastructure and join the tide of digital innovation.
"Those developing countries, also those least developed countries, they have for historical reasons and some other reasons, they are lagging behind in terms of economic development, in terms of infrastructure and so on and so forth. So I think it is important for the world and more specifically for APEC to really, for example, to design a support system, for example, to help them to upgrade their economies, their infrastructures, their logistics and particularly their capability-building efforts, for example, to help them to join the tide of digital innovation and AI revolution, to be part of the prosperity program being launched by this session of APEC," said the expert.
He said that APEC should carry out open sci-tech cooperation so as to effectively align innovation resources.
"It is very important to adhere to the principle of an open and free and fair system of technological cooperation, collaboration and exchanges. There should be mechanisms and approaches for APEC to advocate inter-member technological cooperation and exchanges. I think APEC should test some of the rules and regulations in governing those frontier technologies," said the chief think tank researcher.
Think tank researcher calls for better APEC sci-tech cooperation in aligning innovation resources
