China
Chinese stocks closed lower on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 1.02 percent to 4,135.39 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.17 percent lower at 15,561.37 points.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, dropped 0.56 percent to close at 3,929.06 points.
Chinese shares close lower Friday
The 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Women and the Economy Forum opened on Friday in Shanghai, highlighting women's economic empowerment in the age of artificial intelligence.
Under the theme of "Empowering Women for Shared Prosperity in the Asia-Pacific," the two-day ministerial-level APEC gathering is attracting over 200 participants from across APEC economies.
Senior officials, experts, scholars and business representatives are discussing pressing issues including women's participation in the ongoing digital transformation, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Delegates noted that getting women involved across all sectors and in all industries is no longer a social issue, but a growth strategy.
"We know that when women can participate fully in economies, that they do better, countries do better, and regions do better. When we can get economies together to share ideas and to build capacity, that's when we're at our best. I'm a big supporter of the multinational system and engagement relationships that formed events just like this," said Michelle O'Byrne, Australia's Ambassador for Gender Equality.
Women currently make up less than one-third of the world's researchers, and attendees say closing this gender gap is not only a matter of fairness, but also essential to the quality, relevance and impact of science, technology and innovation.
Many pointed to the challenges brought by new and emerging technologies and say their implications for gender equality should not be overlooked.
"As we know, AI models have biases or algorithms that maybe have many bias toward certain segments of the society. Women can engage in the conversation to help build AI development as well as deploy AI to the public that actually don't leave any behind," said Kaewkamol Pitakdumrongkit, Executive Director of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council International Secretariat.
"We are actually ready to go for the non-traditional sectors. We also, [as] women, [are] involved in the green economy, in the high-tech economy. And today we are talking about AI and technology driven [sectors], we should not be only participating, but we hope women can one day shape the direction," said Maziah Che Yusoff, Secretary General of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia
The forum is expected to release the APEC Shanghai Initiative on Women's Economic Empowerment, offering new ideas and practical proposals for advancing women's development across the region.
During the 2026 APEC "China Year," approximately 300 events are expected to take place across multiple cities in China. This will culminate in the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, which is scheduled to take place in the tech hub of Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province in November.
APEC forum in Shanghai seeks to champion women's economic empowerment
