HK finance chief hails success of APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting

2026-10-23 17:23 Last Updated At：18:17

Financial Secretary of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government Paul Chan said on Wednesday that the just-concluded 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers' Meeting delivered a series of practical outcomes and consolidated consensus among APEC members on financial cooperation.

Speaking with China Media Group (CMG), Chan also said that through the meeting, held from Tuesday to Wednesday in Hong Kong, participants gained a deeper understanding of China's "one country, two systems" policy.

A key part of the 2026 APEC "China Year," the meeting brought together finance ministers, representatives from APEC economies, heads of international organizations and senior representatives of partner parties to assess the economic outlook and strengthen fiscal policies that support growth across the Asia-Pacific.

The meeting reviewed and adopted the 2026 APEC Finance Ministers' Joint Statement and the Policy Statement on Digital Infrastructure Financing Across the Asia-Pacific Region, providing guidance for deepening financial cooperation among member economies.

It also produced two additional deliverables: a report on fiscal policy considerations for supporting households and investing in human capital to sustain growth in the region, and a compendium of innovative practices on financial inclusion.

APEC member economies also agreed to continue promoting exchanges and cooperation among young financial professionals in the region.

In his interview with CMG, Chan said China is committed to promoting common development of both the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large, stressing that the successful hosting of the meeting demonstrated the unique advantage of the "one country, two systems" policy.

"Our country adopts a very open, inclusive and shared development concept. In other words, China's development is not just for itself, but also contributes to the region. For the world today, China is a stabilizer of the global economy," he said.

"This finance ministers' meeting was a success. First, we owe it to the central government's support. We are also very grateful to the central government for its deep care for Hong Kong. Through this meeting, the guests gained a deeper understanding of the 'one country, two systems' which was displayed very prominently. The advantage of 'one country, two systems' is unparalleled," Chan said.

China's innovation gains pace, powering new growth drivers: official data

China's innovation capacity continued to strengthen last year, with the innovation environment improving and new growth drivers expanding, providing solid support for high-quality development, official data showed on Friday.

The country's innovation index stood at 185.5 in 2025, up 6.4 percent from a year earlier, according to an annual report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The sub-indices measuring the innovation environment, input, output and impact all kept rising last year.

The report noted that multiple indicators performed well, including the share of science and technology appropriations in government budget spending, business R and D spending as a share of operating revenue, R and D spending as a share of GDP, the number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 R and D personnel, overall labor productivity, and high-tech products' share of goods exports.

In China, innovation is gathering pace across the board. From DeepSeek's global splash to humanoid robots that wowed audiences, China's scientific achievements have been translating rapidly into industrial applications. Artificial intelligence (AI), new energy and new materials are among the sectors maintaining strong growth momentum.

In the first three quarters of 2026, new drivers of growth, represented by high-end manufacturing, the digital and intelligent economy, and modern services, contributed more than 40 percent of China's economic growth.

Innovation has long held an important place in China's development strategy. The latest major step comes as the guidelines on developing new quality productive forces were released earlier this month, spelling out the overall goals and key tasks for the 2026-2030 period.

As China actively cultivates future industries, expands emerging sectors and upgrades traditional ones, the momentum built through innovation is steadily converting into economic growth, experts said.