The billboard for the 13th IPP International Conference in Guangzhou on August 23
The 13th Institute of Public Policy (IPP) International Conference kicked off in Guangzhou on August 23 under the theme of APEC and the Future of Inclusive Development.
Scholars from APEC member economies, including China, Russia, Singapore, Australia and South Korea, as well as former senior officials from international organizations such as the United Nations, gathered to discuss the future of Asia-Pacific regional cooperation.
"Win-win outcomes are possible between major powers and smaller economies, and the same holds true for relations among major powers themselves," noted Zheng Yongnian, chair of the IPP Academic Committee and conference convener, in his online opening address.
Zheng Yongnian delivers his online opening remarks at the conference in Guangzhou on August 23.
He holds that the Asia-Pacific region will remain the center of the global economy over the next two to three decades, making China-US cooperation increasingly vital.
However, he also emphasized that global economic rebalancing cannot be confined to the China-US dynamics. Sustainable shared prosperity for all can only be realized by expanding overall global development to boost demand and generate new sources of growth.
In his keynote speech titled "The Beacon and the Storm: Keeping APEC Afloat in an Age of Friction," Edward Yau Tang-wah, former Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Hong Kong SAR, observed that the four pillars embodied in the APEC acronym—Asia-Pacific identity, Pacific peace, economic focus and cooperation—face severe fragmentation.
Edward Yau Tang-wah delivers his keynote speech at the conference in Guangzhou on August 23.
Nonetheless, drawing on the region's historical resilience forged through past financial and security crises, Yau rejected absolute pessimism. He pointed to deep-seated regional practicality underpinned by a dense network of nearly 200 thriving multilateral pacts, including upcoming upgraded free-trade agreements and the expanding Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
These arrangements, according to him, serve as vital institutional life rafts that sustain regional trade amid geopolitical attempts to reverse globalization. Backed by steadfast pro-trade economies and business communities, Yau argued strongly against abandoning the ship of open regionalism.
Notably, ahead of the 33rd Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen this November, Yau highlighted China's important host-nation responsibility: championing rules-based inclusiveness, rebalancing economic liberalization with technical cooperation and unlocking shared regional wealth in logistics, green technology and cross-border trade in services.
Guillaume Lafortune, vice president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, delivers his speech at the conference in Guangzhou on August 23.
Organized by IPP at South China University of Technology, the conference focused on issues of wide academic interest across three panel sessions: APEC at a Crossroads: Institutional Logic, Membership and the Challenges of Organizational Informality; Economic Integration of the Asia Pacific: Trade, Industrial Policy and Economic Security; and Innovation and Inclusive Development.
During the roundtable discussion on the future of inclusive development, participants shared their views on topics such as APEC's role amid great-power competition and pathways toward more equitable growth, sparking a lively exchange of ideas in a vibrant atmosphere.
As a flagship academic brand event of the IPP and one of the most influential comprehensive think-tank forums in South China, the annual international conference has been held for 13 sessions, focusing on major issues in the evolving global landscape.
Through this high-level academic platform, the international conference provides a continuous forum for intellectual exchange among global scholars, industry experts and policymakers, combining global perspectives with Chinese insights.
Reporter | Zhang Ruijun
Photos | Zhang Ruijun
