Canada business council eyes Shenzhen APEC to advance trade roadmap with China

The upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen will give Canadian companies a key platform to engage with global businesses and deepen economic and trade cooperation with China, said David Perez-Des Rosiers, director of the Beijing Chapter of the Canada China Business Council (CCBC).

The meeting will take place in Shenzhen from November 18 to 19, under the theme "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together." Leaders from the 21 APEC member economies, which together account for around 60 percent of global GDP and nearly half of global trade, are expected to discuss ways to strengthen regional economic integration, promote open trade and foster shared prosperity across the Asia-Pacific.

Both Canada and China are key members of APEC.

"For us, it's a good opportunity for Canadian businesses to engage with other businesses and to engage with significant stakeholders, whether it's government, businesses, think tanks or people who are going to be attending APEC," said Perez-Des Rosiers.

In January of this year, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney paid an official visit to China. During the visit, the leaders of the two nations reached an important consensus on advancing a China-Canada new strategic partnership and issued a joint statement.

They also signed a China-Canada economic and trade cooperation roadmap setting what Perez-Des Rosiers described as "very ambitious targets."

"So it's going to be a great opportunity for Canada to advance the discussions in terms of the strategic partnerships that was announced earlier this year following the visit of Prime Minister Carney to Beijing. In terms of what we would like to see, it's also going to be a great opportunity to discuss the Canada-China trade and economic roadmap that was announced earlier this year that sets very ambitious targets," he said.

Beyond the leaders' agenda, APEC will serve as a working platform for companies on both sides, with the CCBC planning to bring Canadian businesses to Shenzhen to meet Chinese counterparts and explore new trade and investment opportunities.

"We're going to be at APEC. And we are looking forward also to help our members and Canadian businesses that are going to be on the ground to connect with Chinese businesses to help them find new opportunities of bilateral trade and investments to advance existing discussions," Perez-Des Rosiers said.

He said that he had visited Shenzhen several times and was impressed by the host city's rapid development and innovation capacity, saying he looked forward to fruitful outcomes from the meeting.

Canada business council eyes Shenzhen APEC to advance trade roadmap with China

Canada business council eyes Shenzhen APEC to advance trade roadmap with China

AI governance, open-source development and digital cooperation are taking center stage at the ongoing 2026 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit, which opened on Tuesday in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Held under the theme "Open Source and Openness, Joint Contribution and Shared Benefits -- Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace," the summit has brought together global participants as AI reshapes industries and economies, prompting debate over the rules and cooperation needed to guide AI development.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote address. He called for a people-centered approach to internet development, while stressing open innovation, digital security and the sharing of digital dividends.

"This requires robust, multi-stakeholder internet governance to ensure a global digital ecosystem that is safe, secure, and fundamentally designed to serve all nations and drive global development," said Li Junhua, U.N. under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, in his speech at the event.

Joe Tsai, co-founder and chairman of Chinese multinational conglomerate Alibaba Group, said open-source models could broaden access to AI.

"Open-source models can foster a global developer ecosystem, cut R and D costs for small and medium-sized enterprises, and bring particular value to less widely spoken languages and developing countries. They also allow developers in emerging economies to build local AI applications and innovation ecosystems without starting from scratch," he said.

Nii Narku Quaynor, chairman of Ghana Dot Com and an Internet Hall of Fame inductee, stressed the importance of inclusion.

"Openness is a simple word, but it carries a powerful message about how we develop technology, share knowledge, and shape our common future in cyberspace. We highlight three dimensions of openness: open documents, open standards, and meaningful participation, particularly from Africa and the Global South," he said.

The summit will run until Thursday.

2026 WIC Wuzhen Summit puts AI governance, digital cooperation in focus