APEC delegates are experiencing northeast China’s development vitality through field visits in Dalian, as China hosts the ongoing Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) and related events.
As the host of APEC 2026, China is holding the meetings in Dalian from August 17 to 28. The meetings have brought together more than 2,300 representatives from APEC member economies and related organizations.
Nearly 130 meetings and events have been scheduled, including the SOM plenary session, committee meetings, working group meetings and seminars covering areas such as trade, transportation, food security, customs, science and technology, energy, health, disaster risk reduction and anti-corruption.
Delegates went beyond viewing models at the venue, touring shipbuilding sites to watch construction of major equipment up close. Dalian arranged three integrated industrial‑cultural routes for APEC guests, spanning shipbuilding, modern fisheries, high technology, history and culture.
They shared impressions of Dalian and China’s development following the visits.
"I can say that China is growing so fast and the industry is changing so quickly. Dalian is a really beautiful city. It's so modern and it's lovely. It has a lot of culture, and it also has a lot of things that are really modern and technological," said America Ivonne Zamora Torres, director of the Institute of Economic and Business Research at the Michoacan University of Saint Nicholas of Hidalgo in Mexico.
"I have never been to this part of China before and I'm surprised by the significant development. The arrangement of the APEC Meetings is very well prepared," said Vichaphol, representative of the Department of Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Commerce of Thailand.
"It's a very important city in the northeast of China. Of course, Dalian showcases this kind of successful opening-up story and strategy that China has to share with other economies," said Jose Carlos Feliciano Nishikawa, Deputy Director of the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies, Universidad del Pacifico in Peru.
Since China took over the rotating APEC presidency, international participation in APEC "China Year" activities has remained enthusiastic, with steady progress in cooperation across various fields. This has laid a solid foundation for the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting to be held in Shenzhen in November.
Experts and industry representatives also highlighted the significance of APEC cooperation and China's role in advancing the regional agenda.
"APEC's way of cooperation is very special. It adheres to the principle of voluntarism. In addition to trade and investment issues, APEC also places great emphasis on economic and technical cooperation, which is of great significance for promoting common prosperity and development in the Asia-Pacific region," said Sheng Bin, vice president of Nankai University and deputy director of the China Society of World Economics.
"The APEC forum is the greatest place to discuss, to move on with the international agenda. China is playing a key role in order to move ahead with the strategic agenda, with the strategic pillars," said Rodrigo Gallardo, secretary general of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association.
"China has been a very good delegate and host for this particular epic event. I can see China is very advanced, particularly in few areas, for example, artificial intelligence and also industrial automation. So with that I think we can really learn from China and also use and deploy some of these technologies into our home country," said Denny Ng Kok Sum, dean and professor of the School of Engineering and Technology at Sunway University in Malaysia.
APEC Senior Officials' Meetings and related events were successfully held in Guangzhou in February and Shanghai in May.
Delegates tour Dalian industries, explore culture amid APEC meetings
