Anisha Bhaduri says Hong Kong needs to play its part by managing risk without closing the door to opportunity

The recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Finance Ministerial Meeting 2026 in Hong Kong presented a timely front of solidarity in times of global uncertainties and rising protectionism.

Coming days after the meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Bangkok where international tensions, rising oil prices, spiraling debt repayments and artificial intelligence risks dominated discussions, the APEC Finance Ministerial Meeting’s timing and outcome signaled the rising relevance of responsible and respectful interconnectedness.

Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an, who chaired the meeting, said the “spillover effects of geopolitical conflicts are posing multiple challenges to global economic growth”, while asserting that APEC strengthens macroeconomic policy coordination. His call to deepen pragmatic fiscal and financial cooperation for regional stability and long-term sustainable growth tabled a policy perspective that not only addresses external risks but also calibrates domestic policy with a purposeful openness.

And, it is not mere tokenism. To give an example, in a blog post from early October, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po shared how international political and business leaders were transitioning from a general commitment to cooperation toward concrete, project-specific explorations. In the blog, Chan discussed his visit to Doha, Qatar to attend the annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in September. “Compared with my previous overseas visits, discussions on this trip showed a clearer shift from expressions of interest in closer cooperation to detailed exchanges on specific projects. Our counterparts are looking not just for investment, but also for collaboration on projects and industrial development, expertise in institution-building, professional services and trusted partners,” wrote Chan. The phrase “compared with my previous overseas visits” is significant.

As widely reported, at the APEC Finance Ministerial Meeting, Lan said that “the international landscape is undergoing profound changes amid escalating uncertainty”, while referring to “spillover effects”.

Days before in Bangkok, Governor of the People’s Bank of China Pan Gongsheng also referred to “spillover effects” as he listed “rising trade protectionism, the overstretching of national security concerns, and the unpredictable policy environment” as major drivers of “widening global imbalances in recent years”. Pan said at the ministerial meeting of the 54th Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, “China supports the IMF in further strengthening surveillance of fiscal risks of the major advanced economies and their spillover effects.”

China’s warnings about “spillover effects” at key forums in October are relevant at a time when high fiscal deficits in major economies and surging borrowing costs have shattered investor confidence, with the global bond market suffering a rout. Just last week, France, the world’s seventh-largest economy and the second-largest economy in Europe, narrowly avoided a credit rating downgrade and is staring at what analysts call a debt trap — borrowing more for debt servicing. French borrowing costs hit their highest level since 2002 with investors demanding up to 5 percent a year to lend to the French government for 10 years. As widely reported, France now pays more to borrow than Italy and Greece, two countries central to the Eurozone debt crisis of 2011-12.

And, the “spillover” caveat is timely because it is not just France. Last month, Reuters reported that the average 10-year yield for the Group of Seven largest economies hit 4.285 percent, the highest since mid-2008. For the average citizen already grappling with rising inflation and energy costs, higher government borrowing costs could make mortgages and other credit financing expensive and for many, out of reach. Even corporates are not immune. On Oct 26, a European Central Bank survey showed Eurozone firms are facing increasing difficulty in securing credit from their banks.    

Global uncertainties are a contemporary reality and in this context, Chan’s observation on the grammar of regional cooperation shifting from procedural formalities toward concrete expressions of solid interest to take things further in a structured manner is notable. More notable is how Chan found the keenness for “detailed exchanges on specific projects” better enunciated than during his previous overseas visits. Chan also iterated how Hong Kong’s cooperation with the Middle East and the wider Global South was deepening. The Global South is home to many lower-income economies currently being battered by the spillovers from the policy decisions of wealthier economies.

For Hong Kong, the host city, whose high-quality services were praised by Lan, its unique advantages place it in a position to execute the assertion made by Chan at the welcome dinner on Oct 21: “The task now is to turn discussion into action.” Not only that. Chan also reminded the gathering, “Our task is to manage risk without closing the door to opportunity.”    

Indeed, in times of global crisis, regional solidarity that is underpinned by a sound policy framework informed by openness and upheld by multilateralism can form a bulwark against instability. The APEC Finance Ministerial Meeting has made a significant point in times of tumult.

The author is an award-winning English-language fiction writer and current affairs commentator.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.