China used the opening of this year's APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in Hong Kong to push the bloc's 21 economies toward closer coordination on artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and the supply chains that run through the region.
Chinese Finance Minister Lan Foan told the gathering, held October 20 and 21 as Beijing holds the rotating APEC chair for 2026, that the Asia-Pacific needed to "shoulder greater responsibility" as the main engine of global growth. He pointed to the pace of change brought by AI as reason enough for ministers to work more closely together, alongside cooperation on the digital economy and green energy development.
Lan also flagged the risks of uncoordinated policymaking at a moment of what he called profound uncertainty, saying members should "enhance the robustness" of their own fiscal and monetary settings while stepping up communication to avoid negative spillovers from each other's policy shifts. Officials put four themes on the formal agenda: fiscal policy that supports household welfare, financing for digital infrastructure, financial inclusion shaped to local conditions, and closer ties among the region's younger finance professionals.
The meeting drew finance officials from all 21 APEC member economies, including Taiwan, to Hong Kong, which the city's government has promoted as a chance to showcase its role as a connector between mainland Chinese and international capital markets. It serves as a warm-up for the broader APEC leaders' summit, set for Shenzhen in November, where the same questions over AI governance, trade friction and supply chain security are expected to dominate.
