China will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting for the third time later this month, with Shenzhen as the hosting city. In 2001, Shanghai held the meeting shortly before China joined the World Trade Organization. In 2014, Beijing hosted another meeting that advanced the vision of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). Now, the meeting moves to Shenzhen, a city that reflects China’s growing strength in advanced manufacturing and technological innovation.

The contrast is revealing. Twenty-five years ago, China was entering a period of deeper integration into the global economy. Today, the global economy itself is being reorganized, and China is one of the major forces influencing that change.

The question facing the Asia-Pacific is no longer simply how to expand trade. It is how to maintain meaningful economic cooperation in a world where geopolitical competition and technological change are reshaping the terms of globalization.

At the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting held in Gyeongju, South Korea, last year, President Xi Jinping called for advancing an Asia-Pacific community and cooperation on regional trade, connectivity, the digital economy, and artificial intelligence. China subsequently proposed “Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together” as the theme for the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, with openness, innovation and cooperation as its priorities.

These are worthwhile objectives. What should we expect from the Shenzhen meeting? Three developments would be particularly meaningful.

First, APEC should focus on maintaining more predictable trade and supply-chain connections across the region.

In recent years, companies have been reassessing where they source and manufacture. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the risks of depending too heavily on particular suppliers or production locations, while tariffs, export controls and geopolitical tensions have added further pressures. It is therefore understandable that businesses are looking to diversify their operations.

However, diversification does not necessarily mean the end of regional economic integration. Over the past few decades, companies have developed extensive production networks across the Asia-Pacific, supported by industrial specialization, investment and long-established business relationships. As companies adjust their manufacturing footprints, many of these connections may continue to play an important role. What we may be witnessing is a reconfiguration of regional economic relationships, rather than a wholesale reversal of integration.

For APEC, the challenge is how to respond to these changes. As supply chains evolve, maintaining open trade channels and predictable business conditions may become more important than ever.

The proposed FTAAP remains a long-term goal. No one should expect a comprehensive agreement to emerge from a single meeting. But China has put forward proposals for APEC on the FTAAP and regional connectivity, and business leaders are pressing for practical progress. Cross-border recognition of electronic trade documents, more predictable procedures and fewer unnecessary obstacles would help businesses keep regional networks functioning.

Second, greater attention should be paid to how AI can contribute to productivity and economic growth across the Asia-Pacific.

AI has rapidly become another major area of international competition. Governments and companies are investing heavily in advanced AI models, chips and computing power. These capabilities are undoubtedly important. But the more consequential question is how AI will be applied across industries and translated into real productivity gains.

The benefits will not be limited to technology companies. AI has the potential to change how manufacturers develop products, how logistics companies coordinate supply chains, and how financial and professional services are delivered. The differences between economies may increasingly reflect their capacity to adopt these technologies, not simply to produce them.

APEC has already taken steps in this direction through the APEC AI Initiative (2026–2030) and July’s 2026 APEC Digital and AI Ministerial Meeting in Chengdu. One meaningful anticipated outcome from the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting would be concrete steps to encourage wider AI adoption, including better digital connectivity, skills development, cooperation on standards and greater opportunities for smaller businesses to participate.

Economies will not agree on every aspect of data governance or technological security. But they can still cooperate to ensure that AI does not become a capability available only to a small number of leading companies and economies.

Third, the meeting provides an opportunity to explore new forms of cooperation between China and other economies.

For decades, China has long been an important manufacturing base and a major market for companies around the world. Today, Chinese companies are also becoming increasingly competitive in areas such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, robotics and AI. Many are expanding overseas, establishing local operations and working with international partners.

This means the relationship between China and other economies is changing. It is no longer only about what China can manufacture for the world or what international companies can sell in China. Increasingly, it is also about how companies can combine their capabilities to develop new products, industries and markets.

Of course, such cooperation will not always be straightforward. Different economies have their own industrial priorities, and competition will remain. Nevertheless, China’s growing technological and industrial capabilities could create new opportunities for regional partnerships, particularly when combined with the strengths and local knowledge of other economies.

Shenzhen is the ideal place to discuss this. Its strength in innovation and manufacturing, combined with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s international financial markets and professional services, illustrates how different capabilities can complement one another. A similar approach could create opportunities across the Asia-Pacific, bringing together technology, capital, industrial experience and local market knowledge.

Of course, we cannot expect a single APEC meeting to resolve all of the trade and geopolitical tensions. But APEC’s importance has never depended solely on reaching major agreements. Its 21 member economies differ considerably in their economic development, systems and priorities. Nevertheless, they have found ways to work together and contribute to the region’s growth.

Competition among economies will undoubtedly continue, and in some areas it may intensify. But competition and cooperation do not necessarily have to be mutually exclusive. Much of the Asia-Pacific’s economic success has been built upon its ability to bring together different capabilities, resources and markets.

The success of the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting hinges on whether its members can find new ways to translate this shared interest into practical cooperation. If they can, the forum will have significance well beyond the Shenzhen event.

The author is founder and CEO of Gao Feng Advisory Co, a strategy and management consulting firm with roots in China.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.