As APEC launches its 2026 agenda in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, a leading Chinese political economist said the Asia-Pacific is set to remain the center of global economic growth—and that its future core is increasingly taking shape in China's Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in an interview with South on February 2.
Officials from APEC's 21 member economies are meeting in Guangzhou from February 1 to 10 for the First Senior Officials' Meeting and Related Meetings, paving the way for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen in November.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meetings, Zheng Yongnian, dean of the School of Public Policy at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, noted that both developed and developing economies are grappling with the same core challenge: development, at a time when geopolitical tensions, de-globalization, and economic and technological nationalism are reshaping cross-border flows of capital, goods, and talent.
"In such an environment, openness becomes even more important," he said, arguing that economic growth depends on the free movement of production factors.
Around 60 meetings and workshops are scheduled during the 10-day event, covering issues from digital transformation and services competitiveness to investment, standards, and customs modernization—areas expected to shape APEC's priorities under China's three focus areas for 2026: openness, innovation, and cooperation.
According to Zheng, the Asia-Pacific has been the world's fastest-growing and most stable economic region over the past four decades, a trend he expects to persist for another 20 to 30 years. "The question is where within the region that center will be—and I believe it will be the Greater Bay Area," he said.
Zheng added that the Greater Bay Area has already surpassed the San Francisco and New York Bay Areas in scale and is now comparable to Tokyo, though much of its potential remains untapped.
He highlighted Shenzhen's role as a critical connector between Hong Kong and Guangzhou, combining manufacturing strength and technological innovation with Hong Kong's services-driven economy and Guangzhou's commercial base. "If these three core cities are fully integrated," he said, "the Greater Bay Area would already qualify as a world-class bay area."
Reporter | Liu Xiaodi
Vide Editor | Pan Jiajun
Video Script | Liu Xiaodi
Cameraman | Qin Shaolong
Cover Designer | Lai Meiya
