The APEC China CEO Forum 2026 was successfully held in Beijing on June 21. Attendees at the opening ceremony included Ren Hongbin, Chair of the APEC CEO Summit 2026 and Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Chen Xu, Chair of the APEC 2026 Senior Officials’ Meeting and President of the China Public Diplomacy Association (CPDA), Jiang Chenghua, Deputy China International Trade Representative (vice-ministerial rank) of the Ministry of Commerce, Eduardo Pedrosa, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, and Li Fanrong, Chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) 2026 and Chairman of Sinochem Holdings. They all delivered speeches at the ceremony.

Ren Hongbin noted that the Asia-Pacific region accounts for over 60 percent of the global economy and nearly half of world trade. He emphasized that the Asia-Pacific business community should work together to uphold the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, continuously advance regional trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and deepen Asia-Pacific economic integration. Noting that this year marks China’s third time hosting APEC and the opening year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, Ren stated that the CCPIT and the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC) stand ready to work with the Asia-Pacific business community to tap cooperation potential, promote the deep integration of industrial, supply, and value chains, and contribute to building an Asia-Pacific community.

As one of the featured APEC business events in 2026, this year’s forum was themed “Openness · Connectivity · Synergy: Linking the Asia-Pacific for a Shared Future”. It brought together government, business, and international organization representatives from various APEC economies. The forum systematically promoted the outcomes of the first two ABAC meetings of 2026. In-depth discussions were carried out around topics such as “Advancing Open Cooperation to Forge New Consensus on the FTAAP,” “Boosting Connectivity to Usher in a New Chapter in Asia-Pacific Cooperation,” and “Leveraging Digital Innovation to Drive New Economic Growth in the Asia-Pacific Region,” contributing business wisdom and strength to promoting open and win-win cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and driving regional economic growth. Speakers from multinational corporations and institutions included Ge Haijiao, Chairman of Bank of China (BOC); Liu Jun, President of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC); Dong Junfeng, Chairman of China UnionPay; Xu Xiaoxi, Chairman of Xiamen C&D Group; Liu Qiangdong, Founder and Chairman of JD.com; Li Dongsheng, Founder and Chairman of TCL; Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, CEO of the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI); Marjorie Yang, Chairman of Esquel Group; Alvin Liu, President of Boeing China; Anindya Bakrie, Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN); and Jonathan Choi, Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC), Hong Kong.

Li Qingshuang and Liu Jiannan, Vice Chairpersons of the CCPIT, attended the opening ceremony. The forum also witnessed the official launch of the APEC CEO Summit 2026 Website. More than 300 participants attended the forum, including government officials from relevant APEC economies, ABAC representatives, prominent international business leaders, and heads of international organizations.