The 2026 APEC Economic Leaders' Week is building momentum as this year's final APEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) and the fourth APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) meeting opened in Shenzhen on Saturday.
As the last SOM of APEC's 2026 "China Year," the two-day meeting, which ends on Sunday, is the main channel through which APEC advances cooperation across various fields and consolidates outcomes for the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders‘ Meeting, scheduled to be held in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, on Nov. 18-19.
Hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the fourth ABAC meeting brought together business leaders for in-depth discussions on regional economic integration, connectivity, digital innovation and sustainable development.
The consensus reached by ABAC will be submitted to APEC leaders as policy recommendations from the business community, while also serving as a core input for the Shenzhen Initiative of the 2026 APEC CEO Summit, to be released at the summit.
APEC Leaders' Week gains momentum as final SOM, ABAC meetings open in Shenzhen
Business representatives and academics from 21 APEC economies gathered in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, on Saturday to explore new avenues for cooperation at the fourth meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in 2026.
More than 60 business representatives and academic guests attended, bringing the total number of participants to over 200.
At the opening plenary, representatives reviewed and approved the report of the council's third meeting this year. The session also discussed the current economic situation, preparations for the APEC CEO Summit, and the findings of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council's State of the Region survey.
Founded in November 1995, ABAC is the only non-governmental body with an official advisory role in the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, engaging in a formal dialogue and submitting annual policy recommendation reports to APEC leaders.
Attendees hold high hopes for smoother trade and greater cooperation under the APEC framework.
Agustin Garcia Rechy, alternate member for Mexico of ABAC, said in an interview with China Media Group that Mexico attaches great importance to business ties with China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, including Shenzhen, and looks forward to further cooperation with China in areas such as innovation and digital connectivity.
"In Mexico, the cooperation that we are looking for and also that we have right now is with some important companies from Shenzhen, for example. all of them are doing a very good job in Mexico and developing very well," he said.
"It is about logistics, it is about sustainability, it is about free trade zone, it is about productivity, efficiency. We want [trade] to be more efficient, more predictive," said Ivan Marambio, president of Frutas de Chile.
"I focus on sustainability, areas like AI and making sure that we have a way of governing AI across the region, and also the importance of making sure that decisions that we make at APEC are also taking into account smaller economies [that aren't] always represented around the table here, but are impacted by the decisions that we make," said Brett O'Riley, a New Zealand member of ABAC.
APEC business leaders seek closer cooperation at Shenzhen meeting
