This November, Shenzhen will host the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting. As a key window into China's reform and opening-up, Shenzhen started with processing trade, gradually developed a modern industrial system centered on advanced manufacturing, and has continued to expand into emerging sectors such as new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence and robotics. Yuan Yan, deputy director of Washington Chinese TV (WATV), said that Shenzhen's biggest highlight is the city itself, describing this miracle city as a vivid example of openness, innovation and cooperation.
Openness broadens opportunities for Asia-Pacific cooperation
At BYD's production facilities, new energy vehicles roll off assembly lines before being shipped through Shenzhen Port to markets around the world. In the first four months of 2026, BYD sold more than 450,000 vehicles in overseas markets. In the first half of 2026, Shenzhen's imports from and exports to other APEC economies totaled 1.98 trillion yuan, up 33 percent year on year. Exports of the "new trio" products (electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products) reached 66.78 billion yuan, an increase of 28.9 percent year on year.
Cross-border e-commerce has further extended the channels through which Shenzhen companies connect with global markets. At the Qianhai Cross-Border Trade Logistics Supervision Center, more than 700,000 cross-border e-commerce parcels and over 400 vehicles clear customs every day. In 2024, Shenzhen's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports totaled 372 billion yuan, and overseas warehouses built and operated by Shenzhen companies covered more than 4.2 million square meters. The city's airport, ports and China-Europe freight trains together form an integrated logistics network of sea, land and air routes, enabling a growing number of Shenzhen companies to reach Asia-Pacific consumers directly.
Li Huadong, the founder of Papua New Guinea (PNG) China Press, believes that Shenzhen has attracted investment through opening-up, improved its infrastructure and business environment, built industrial chains on the foundation of manufacturing, and continued to upgrade through technology and innovation. He said this development trajectory offers valuable lessons for developing APEC economies.
Technological innovation reaches broader markets
Shenzhen's AI innovations are rapidly expanding into a wider range of industrial production and public service applications. Industrial AI company SmartMore has served more than 730 customers worldwide. By the end of 2025, the company had delivered approximately 140,000 industrial AI agents and completed inspections of more than 17 billion products, while continuing to expand into markets including South Korea, Malaysia and Japan.
SkillsUI, an open, interactive platform developed by Shenzhen-based RabbitPre, has been applied in government services, healthcare and community services. Its open-source visual model, Open-Sora Plan, has topped GitHub's global trending chart five times, with a single model recording more than 26 million downloads. In 2025, Shenzhen's core AI industry generated approximately 220 billion yuan in revenue, with more than 2,600 AI enterprises above the designated size.
Chen Yingling, a famous short-video creator, believes that openness and sharing can lower barriers to innovation. Shenzhen, she said, once made its fortune through opening-up and is now seeking its future through technological innovation.
Li Huadong is more interested in how technological innovation can benefit more APEC economies. In his view, when considering digitalization across the Asia-Pacific region, the question is not only how fast cities such as Shenzhen are advancing, but also whether a remote village in Papua New Guinea can gain access to the Internet for the first time and whether communities can gain access to infrastructure such as telecommunications, solar power and energy storage.
People-to-people exchanges add warmth to cooperation
Shenzhen's ties with the rest of the Asia-Pacific region extend beyond trade and technology. On August 1, Wing Chun, an original dance drama from Shenzhen, was staged in Andong, South Korea. By the close of its premiere in Andong, the dance drama had been performed in 59 cities in China and abroad, with a total of 337 performances and a cumulative audience of around 460,000.
Shenzhen-produced film Dear You similarly reaches across borders by drawing on Qiaopi culture, a tradition where early generations of overseas Chinese sent letters and remittances back home. The film tells a family story in the Chaoshan (Teochew) dialect. As of August 16, its cumulative overseas box office had reached 104 million yuan. The film has been released theatrically in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines and other markets.
"Economic and trade cooperation determines whether the two places can grow together, while people-to-people exchanges determine whether the relationship can endure," Chen Yingling said.
From bringing products to global markets and sharing technologies to promoting cultural exchanges, Shenzhen's development experience shows that openness creates opportunities for cooperation, innovation provides momentum for growth, and people-to-people exchanges forge more enduring regional ties. As the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting approaches, this miracle city will offer a key window into openness, innovation and cooperation across Asia Pacific.
Text | Zhang Xuanzhen (intern), Deng Li (intern), and Huang Qini
Photo | Nanfang Plus
