From February 7 to 9, 2026, a Chinese business delegation led by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) hosted the first meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in 2026 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The year 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of ABAC’s establishment. This meeting stands as the first major business event for the APEC “China Year”, officially kicking off a new year of Asia-Pacific business cooperation.

Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of Indonesia, attended and addressed the opening ceremony, speaking highly of the crucial role of the business community in driving regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and wishing a complete success for the APEC “China Year”. He also expressed his anticipation for the upcoming gathering in Shenzhen, looking forward to collaborating with all parties to inject strong impetus into regional common prosperity. Chen Xu, Chair of the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting, also attended and spoke at the meeting, elaborating on China’s overall considerations for the APEC “China Year” and encouraging the ABAC to focus on practical cooperation to deliver high-quality outcomes for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

During the meeting, the Asia-Pacific business community held in-depth discussions focusing on four key areas: regional economic integration, sustainable development, digital innovation, and connectivity, putting forward a number of constructive proposals. The annual theme “Openness, Connectivity,  Synergy” was formally launched to call for keeping markets open in the Asia-Pacific region, accelerating economic integration, and strengthening innovation cooperation. The ABAC also held a dialogue with APEC’s senior officials, continuously deepening communication and collaboration between the business community and government mechanisms. Leveraging its role as a bridge, the CCPIT, together with the Chinese representatives at the meeting, called for support for the development of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, advocated for enhanced experience sharing in cutting-edge fields like “AI+”, and proposed a series of high-quality initiatives on topics such as green energy transition, sustainable agricultural development, cross-border payment facilitation, and people-to-people connectivity, effectively leading regional cooperation and gaining widespread recognition. At this meeting, the  Connectivity Working Group, re-established on China’s initiative, received extensive support. support. The group not only submitted the largest number of proposals among all working groups, but also saw every one of them adopted, fully demonstrating China’s influence and appeal in promoting Asia-Pacific connectivity cooperation.

As the only standing body representing the business community within the APEC mechanism, the ABAC shoulders the important mission of conveying the voice of the business community and contributing pragmatic solutions to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Li Fanrong, Chair of the ABAC and Chairman of Sinochem Holdings, presided over the meeting, where there were over 200 participants, including senior officials, ABAC representatives, incoming members, and experts from 21 member economies of APEC. According to the schedule, another ABAC meetings will be held in Mexico City, Mexico, Bangkok, Thailand, and Shenzhen, China, respectively. The final outcomes of the meetings will be submitted to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting to be held in China in November, 2026.