After two days of talks in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, trade ministers from all 21 APEC economies have concluded their annual meeting with a joint statement and renewed pledges to strengthen regional integration.
Discussions at the 2026 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting centered on trade liberalization, supply chain resilience, services trade, and green development, as member economies navigate rising global uncertainty.
Following the two-day meeting, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, who chaired the Suzhou ministerial talks, said trade representatives engaged in candid and in-depth discussions on major regional and global economic issues.
"The meeting delivered two concrete outcomes. All parties agreed to name the joint statement the Suzhou Statement. Against this backdrop, the spotlight has once again turned to the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific," said Wang.
Another key outcome of the meeting is the approval of a new APEC roadmap for services. Member economies agreed to reduce barriers to services trade, enhance regional connectivity, and support expanding the use of the virtual APEC Business Travel Card.
New Zealand's Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay said deeper integration remains central to APEC’s long-term development.
"I think for the Asia-Pacific economies, the idea of integration — bringing down barriers, fewer tariffs, fewer non-tariff barriers — make it easier for goods and services to cross border, for them to be treated well, recognition of the quality," said McClay.
APEC economies also pledged to enhance supply chain resilience by keeping trade routes open and maintaining stable flows of essential goods, including food and energy supplies.
Chinese officials said input from the business community, especially on digital trade and sustainable development, was incorporated into the meeting’s outcomes.
"As a businessperson, we hope business leads the agenda. It's never been a conflict for us working in the region. Sometimes with the trade leaders getting together, it helps put business agenda first," said Rob Iuppa, CFO of Technimark Group.
"I think this is an ever-growing topic in green transformation. This is a matter of commitment to the topic of being green and trying to understand what is a more feasible way of getting there," said Minnie Ang, president of Singapore Chamber of Commerce (Jiangsu Province).
"Doing display and semiconductor is always about the supply chain. How do we secure the supply chain? Maybe we have to look for help from the government to actually make the bridge to our supply chain companies," said Dominic Jeong, international business representative of S and S Tech from the Republic of Korea.
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao described the outcomes as hard-won, adding that China will continue working with other member economies to implement the consensus reached in Suzhou ahead of this year’s APEC leaders’ meeting in Shenzhen.
APEC economies pledge deeper regional integration
APEC economies pledge deeper regional integration
