On May 22-23, MOFCOM hosted the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting (MRT) in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Member economies had in-depth discussions on advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), supporting the WTO, strengthening digital cooperation, and developing a green economy. The meeting issued the 2026 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting Joint Statement, or the Suzhou Statement, and adopted the APEC Roadmap for Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Services, achieving fruitful outcomes. The Director General of MOFCOM’s Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs interpreted the relevant outcomes.

Q: The meeting adopted a joint statement, also known as the Suzhou Statement. What is the significance of this statement?

A: The Suzhou Statement issued at this meeting is the first ministerial-level outcome document of the APEC “China Year,” and it is named after the host city for the first time in 12 years. Its significance can be summarized in three aspects:

First, it boosts confidence in regional economic and trade cooperation and provides stronger support for economic recovery in the Asia Pacific region. The successful conclusion of the Suzhou Statement sends a clear signal that all economies are committed to cooperation for win-win outcomes, injecting new growth momentum into the Asia-Pacific economy as it forges ahead under pressure. With the global economic recovery remaining weak and demand persistently sluggish, the Asia-Pacific region, as an engine of global economic growth, urgently needs a clear and coherent direction for cooperation. Economies need to work together to unlock growth potential. The Suzhou Statement focuses on emerging areas such as digital trade, green and low-carbon development, supply chain connectivity, and the upgrade of trade in services, building consensus among the 21 APEC economies, identifying priority directions and implementation pathways for regional economic and trade cooperation. This will help fully unleash the potential of regional economic and trade cooperation, better leverage the advantages of Asia-Pacific’s supersized market, offset downward pressures on the global economy, and provide solid support for the sustained and stable recovery of the Asia-Pacific economy.

Second, it contributes practical Asia-Pacific solutions and helps improve the global economic and trade governance system. Against the backdrop of rising unilateralism and protectionism and severe challenges to the global economic and trade governance system, the Suzhou Statement proposes an Asia-Pacific approach to addressing the difficulties. All parties reaffirmed their commitment to advancing regional economic integration and the development of the FTAAP, actively responded to the need for WTO reform, took into account the differentiated demands of developed and developing economies, and adhered to inclusive, mutually beneficial and equitable development. In response to global challenges such as supply chain disruptions, fragmented rules, lack of digital governance, and green trade barriers, the Statement sets out practical and feasible regional cooperation plans. These will provide important references for building a stable and well-functioning international economic and trade order, and continuously enhance the Asia-Pacific region’s voice and influence in global economic and trade governance.

Third, it showcases the appeal of openness of the host city and helps China advance high-standard opening up. The meeting took Suzhou, a modern and open city, as a window to fully demonstrate China’s achievements in opening up. In addition, through this high-level international economic and trade event, Suzhou deeply engaged with Asia-Pacific economic and trade rules, connected with high-quality global economic and trade resources, and actively aligned its industries, trade and services with international high-standard economic and trade rules. Its successful regional opening practice has demonstrated China’s firm commitment and policy orientation to mutual benefit and win-win cooperation and to continuously expanding opening up.

Q: What consensus was reached at the meeting on regional economic integration and the development of the FTAAP?

A: During the 2014 APEC “China Year,” economies adopted the Beijing Roadmap for APEC’s Contribution to the Realization of the FTAAP. For more than a decade, APEC economies have actively carried out policy exchange, capacity building, and information sharing on the FTAAP agenda, which continuously advanced regional economic integration and greatly facilitated integrated regional development. The parties agreed to continue actively advancing regional economic integration and moving forward the FTAAP agenda through concrete actions such as experience sharing, capacity building, technical cooperation and business community participation, to enhance the ability of APEC economies to engage in high‑standard free trade agreements. Through communication and dialogue, they will promote the convergence of regional economic and trade rules, and continuously improve the trade and investment environment of the region. The concept of promoting mutual trust, advocated by China, has gained broad support, and the open, flexible and pragmatic approach put forward by China has been widely endorsed and positively responded to.

Given the current complex and severe international economic and trade situation, the consensus reached by APEC members to continue advancing Asia-Pacific regional economic integration is particularly valuable. The parties not only reaffirmed their shared commitment to unswervingly promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, but also charted the course for joint efforts to advance regional economic integration in the future, sending a positive signal to the international community that openness and cooperation can achieve mutual benefit and win‑win results.

Q: What outcomes were achieved at the meeting in supporting the work of the WTO?

A: Supporting the WTO-centered multilateral trading system has long been an agenda item for APEC cooperation. At this APEC MRT Meeting, APEC economies spoke with a strong and united voice in support of the multilateral trading system, affirming the positive progress made at the MC14 in areas such as WTO reform. In the Suzhou Statement, the parties reached consensuses on the important role of WTO rules in promoting global trade, on working together to improve the WTO, and on issues including the temporary moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, agriculture, fisheries subsidies, investment facilitation, and e-commerce. They agreed to better leverage APEC’s role as an incubator of ideas, sending a positive signal of maintaining an open and stable international economic and trade order and jointly advancing WTO reform.

On the sidelines of the meeting, China hosted a side event titled “Revitalizing the WTO’s Functions by Addressing Contemporary Trade Issues: Workshop on Trade and Environment”, which brought together nearly 200 participants from APEC economies, academia, and the business community, providing an important platform for APEC to contribute to the WTO’s work. Participants unanimously agreed that greater coherence between trade policies and environmental policies is needed, that trade protectionist measures taken in the name of green development should be rejected, and that the WTO should be supported in its efforts to liberalize trade in environmental goods and services.

Going forward, China will work together with all parties to implement the consensus reached at this APEC MRT Meeting, uphold the value and principles of the multilateral trading system, participate fully and deeply in WTO reform, support the WTO in playing a greater role in global economic governance, and contribute Asia-Pacific strength to promoting global trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.

Q: We note that the Suzhou Statement has an annex: the APEC Roadmap for Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Services. What is the background to the development of this Roadmap, and what role will it play in the future?

A: The development of the APEC Roadmap for Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Services comes at a time when trade in services in the Asia-Pacific region is entering a new phase of rapid expansion. According to statistics released in 2025 by the APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU), APEC’s commercial services imports and exports both reached USD 3.1 trillion in 2024, accounting for over 35% of global trade in services, making it firmly the world’s largest region in terms of trade in services bloc. Digital services trade doubled in scale over the past decade, and services have become a core growth driver for the Asia-Pacific economy. At the same time, the development of trade in services faces new situations and challenges, such as diverging regulatory frameworks across the region, accelerating digital transformation, and rising demand for green services. To address these challenges, APEC economies jointly formulated the new Roadmap, which sets out seven development principles and eight action pillars, along with concrete implementation arrangements, with the aim of safeguarding the rapidly growing trade in services of the Asia-Pacific region.

This Roadmap is a guiding document that will lead the collective opening up, standards alignment, innovation and reform of the Asia-Pacific services sector over the next decade. On the one hand, it clarifies the principles of development and the direction of reform for the region’s services sector, helping to facilitate digital trade and cross‑border flows of green services, enabling MSMEs to integrate into global industrial and supply chains, and consolidating the foundation for regional economic growth and employment. On the other hand, the Roadmap actively aligns with WTO rules and the UN Sustainable Development Agenda, responds to the trends of digitalization and green transformation of trade in services, and strengthens the innovation capacity, competitiveness and industrial chain resilience of the Asia-Pacific services sector, offering an Asia-Pacific solution for advancing liberalization and facilitation of global trade in services. China will work together with other APEC economies to jointly implement the Roadmap and make new contributions to the inclusive and sustainable development of services in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.Q: The outcomes of this meeting include promoting digital trade cooperation and green development. What opportunities will these outcomes bring to China’s economic and industrial development?

A: This APEC MRT Meeting reached broad consensus on deepening digital cooperation and advancing green development, which will help create a favorable external environment and broader cooperation space for the development of China’s digital and green industries.

In the field of digital cooperation, the parties agreed to promote the alignment of digital trade rules, the expansion of paperless trade, and the connectivity of cross-border digital services in the Asia-Pacific region. This will help China better integrate into the industrial and supply chains of Asia-Pacific digital economy. As regional digital rules and regulations are gradually harmonized, new business types in China such as cross-border e-commerce, smart logistics, and digital services will be able to expand into Asia-Pacific markets more easily. In addition, drawing on the governance practices and experiences of Asia-Pacific economies will also help China continuously improve and upgrade its regulatory systems in areas such as digital trade, data flows, and cross-border e-commerce, providing impetus for China’s digital economy to reach new heights.

In the field of green development, APEC advocates low‑carbon transformation, smooth trade in green products, and alignment of green industry standards. This has established a stable platform for regional cooperation in areas such as energy conservation and environmental protection, clean energy equipment, and green technology services. It will enable China, in compliance with multilateral rules, to deepen exchanges on green technologies and enhance industrial collaboration and project cooperation with other Asia-Pacific economies, support the green and low‑carbon transformation of its domestic industrial structure, and at the same time participate in the development of a regional green economy and trade system through practical cooperation, contributing to its own sustainable development and shared prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Q: We have noted that the parties reached a series of consensuses on supply chain connectivity. Could you share more details?

A: During the meeting, economies had in‑depth discussions on supply chain connectivity and reached a series of consensuses. They agreed that APEC should play a greater role in maintaining smooth supply chains, reaffirmed the common goal of enhancing the resilience and stability of regional supply chains, and committed to ensuring the openness of trade corridors to facilitate trade flows of essential goods. The parties will complete as soon as possible the final review of Third Phase of APEC Supply Chain Connectivity Framework Action Plan (SCFAPШ), continue to deepen connectivity cooperation, make full use of the APEC Business Travel Card, continuously strengthen global and regional value chains, and enhance regional food security through practical cooperation, minimizing the risk of food supply chain disruptions.

The Asia-Pacific region is the most economically dynamic region in the world. Whether its supply chains remain stable directly affects the global economic recovery. The consensuses reached at this meeting on supply chains send a clear signal to the international community: APEC economies choose “connectivity” over “division” and “cooperation” over “confrontation”. This is of great significance for building a more resilient, efficient and inclusive Asia-Pacific supply chain network.

Q: The Asia-Pacific business community has followed and actively participated in this meeting. What policy dividends will the meeting bring to businesses in the region?

A: This meeting has sent positive signals of openness, universal benefits, facilitation and stability to support high-quality development of the Asia-Pacific business community. The parties jointly called for supporting the extension of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions to keep digital markets open and stable. They actively support Asia-Pacific enterprises in developing cross-border e-commerce, better integrating into digital platforms and the global digital economy, and helping to bridge the digital divide. They will ensure equal access for enterprises to assets, market opportunities and skills training, and enhance their ability to participate in global value chains. They will strengthen cooperation on the mutual recognition of standards and conformity assessment, reduce technical barriers to trade, promote good regulatory practices, and improve the transparency, predictability and effectiveness of the business environment. They will steadily advance the Investment Facilitation Action Plan and carry out more capacity-building projects. These policies will help enterprises further reduce trade costs, facilitate investment flows, and create a favorable policy environment for Asia-Pacific enterprises to advance their digital transformation.

During the meeting, MOFCOM actively responded to the concerns of the business community by hosting the Luncheon Between APEC MRT and the Business Community, and seminars on sustainable green mineral supply chains, investment facilitation and electronic bills of lading. The Suzhou Municipal People’s Government also organized events such as the Asia-Pacific Business Partnership Dialogue and the 2026 Suzhou Global Investment Promotion Conference, providing a platform for business dialogue and exchanges, and supporting enterprises in seeking cooperation and common development through dialogue. (Released on May 26)