The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting will be held from Friday to Saturday in Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, attracting about 700 delegates from 21 APEC economies and international organizations.
Delegates have been arriving in Suzhou, and a series of events focusing on trade and economic cooperation are underway.
An extended event of the meeting, Asia-Pacific Business Partnership Dialogue 2026 Suzhou Global Investment Promotion Conference, was held at the Suzhou Jinji Lake International Convention Center on Thursday.
The event attracted over 100 corporate representatives from 30 countries and regions worldwide, with the largest number of guests coming from U.S.-funded companies.
Global executives from multiple Fortune 500 and multinational corporations also appeared at the conference.
"As long as our customers are growing in China, we're going to be investing with them. So that right now the prognosis is more investment in these than the last three years this year," said Robert Iuppa, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Technimark Group.
"We have found a very fertile ground in China. This year, we will continue to increase our research and development investment and capacity building in the country. In 2026, we plan to achieve a growth of more than 30 percent in new product launches compared to last year," said Henry Ding, global senior vice president of 3M and president of 3M China.
Multiple events are being held on Thursday, with participating delegates focusing on discussions and consultations on topics such as green supply chains and trade digitalization.
China previously hosted APEC trade ministers' meetings in 2001 and 2014.
The 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, in November.
During the 2026 APEC "China Year," approximately 300 events are expected to take place across multiple cities in China, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
APEC trade ministers meeting to open in Jiangsu
