China urges APEC members to back Asia-Pacific solutions
China will host the APEC leaders' summit in Shenzhen in November, its third time hosting the forum after Shanghai and Beijing.
China on Tuesday called on members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to keep offering practical solutions for development in the region and beyond, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, made the remarks in a video address to the 37th APEC Ministerial Meeting, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, which also reported the speech.
Wang co-chaired the meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and said Beijing is willing to work with "all parties" to make the final stage of the 2026 APEC "China Year" a success.
He described the upcoming APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting later this month as an "important one" for the future development of the Asia-Pacific region.
Wang Wentao urged all members to uphold free trade and innovation-driven development, and to build a fair and equitable international economic and trade order.
He also called for more discussion and policy coordination on digital and intelligent economic and trade rules, which he said could become a strong engine for growth.
China will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen, in south China, in November, the Xinhua report said.
The summit will mark China's third time hosting the event, after Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014.
The theme of the summit is "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together," and China has named openness, innovation and cooperation as the priority areas for this year's APEC cooperation.
APEC is a regional forum of 21 member economies that works to promote trade and economic cooperation across the Pacific, and its leaders hold an annual summit.
