The APEC Economies China Studies Scholars Forum opened on June 12 in Guangzhou, gathering nearly 100 experts and scholars from 16 APEC member economies to explore the theme of "China's Development and the Shared Future of the Asia-Pacific."
Xing Feng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Jinan University, said the forum was part of the university's 120th anniversary academic activities. He noted that the APEC spirit of openness, inclusiveness and cooperation was particularly valuable amid current global changes, expressing hope that the forum would provide solid academic support for the upcoming APEC meetings in Shenzhen.
Xie Shi, vice president of Sun Yat-sen University, said Asia-Pacific regional cooperation was expanding from traditional trade and investment liberalization toward more advanced areas such as the digital economy, green and low-carbon development, and industrial and supply chain resilience. He added that China studies under the APEC framework featured stronger interdisciplinary and cross-regional characteristics, covering governance models, technological innovation, people-to-people exchanges, and integrated area studies.
Shen Minghao, vice president of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), noted that the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting would soon be held in Shenzhen. Faced with challenges such as uneven development and climate change, as well as new opportunities in the digital economy and artificial intelligence, he expressed GDUFS's hope that the forum would contribute to building a more open, inclusive, green, innovative, connected, and mutually beneficial future for the Asia-Pacific.
The forum features keynote speeches, plenary presentations and parallel forums. Yang Jiemian, chairman of the Academic Advisory Committee and a senior research fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), delivered a keynote speech elaborating on the intrinsic relationship between the APEC framework and the development of area studies.
During the plenary session, experts from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Russia, Australia, South Korea and Indonesia presented research covering APEC institutional reform, the transformation of Asia-Pacific production networks, the future direction of APEC, the Global Development Initiative, and Asia-Pacific cooperation.
Three parallel forums were held, focusing on APEC and regional economic cooperation, APEC and China's neighboring relations, and APEC and regional socio-cultural exchanges. Scholars held in-depth dialogues on issues such as APEC trade and investment adjustments, mutual empowerment between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and APEC, narrative building for the APEC meetings in Shenzhen, APEC's links to China's reform and opening-up, and the Global Civilization Initiative.
Running from June 11 to 13, the forum is hosted by the Institute of Regional and Country Studies, Jinan University, and co-organized by the Center for Oceania Studies, Sun Yat-sen University, and the Center for Indonesian Studies, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.
Reporter: Xie Maishi
Photo by: Guo Hongda, Xu Anrui
