The 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, set to be held in Shenzhen next week, is expected to mark a major milestone for deepening economic integration between China and Southeast Asia, according to Simon Yuan, head of China investment banking at Citi.
China will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen from Nov 18 to 19, highlighting the Asia-Pacific region's accelerating shift toward integrated digital economies, clean energy and cross-border industrial collaboration.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Yuan pointed to a structural upgrade in bilateral ties, noting that the relationship is no longer defined simply by trading goods, but by co-building deeply integrated manufacturing hubs spanning electric vehicles, green energy, and AI infrastructure.
"China and Southeast Asia have a very, very strong trade ties already. But I think in recent years the relationship has evolved from a pure trade relationship to a much more integrated investment, manufacturing and supply chain partnership. China has been a big investor in Southeast Asia and I think to some extent vice versa. The main focus sectors are innovative sectors like AI-related manufacturing, AI data center, electric vehicle, green economy," he said.
Pointing to massive capital commitments flowing into the region, Yuan emphasized Southeast Asia's position as a premier engine for cross-border growth.
"Southeast Asia has been one of the top destinations for foreign direct investments, 2025 alone, it was a 246 billion U.S. dollars. This APEC will be another important milestone for further economic integration between China and Southeast Asia. We see more to come and Citi is very well positioned to help serve this trading investment flow given our very strong presence in both China and Southeast Asia," he said.
APEC to drive deeper integration between China, Southeast Asia: Citi executive
