Shenzhen to Host 2026 APEC Leaders' Meeting on November 18-19

Overview

At a regular press briefing on December 12, 2025, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun announced that the 33rd APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, on November 18-19, 2026. The leaders' meeting will be accompanied by the APEC CEO Summit and a joint ministerial meeting of foreign and trade ministers.

Just before the announcement, Shenzhen hosted the APEC Symposium and Informal Senior Officials' Meeting (ISOM) on December 11-12. It was the first event organized by China as host of the 2026 leaders' meeting and marked the start of the APEC "China Year." The logo for APEC 2026 was also unveiled at the meeting.

Background

APEC is an economic cooperation forum of 21 member economies in the Asia-Pacific region, and Japan has been a member since its founding. This will be the third time China hosts the APEC leaders' meeting, following Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014. The choice of Shenzhen, a city widely seen as a symbol of China's reform and opening-up, rather than the capital or a provincial-level municipality, appears to reflect the city's profile as an innovation hub.

Shenzhen has also been stepping up efforts to attract investment. According to a December 9 report by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the Shenzhen government said that more than 340 new projects with total investment of 770 billion yuan were signed at the "2025 Shenzhen Global Investment Promotion Conference" held on December 5. Citing Xinhua, the report added that more than 10,000 new foreign-invested enterprises were set up in Shenzhen from January to October 2025, and that just over 340 Fortune Global 500 companies have operations in the city.

Key Points

• Theme: At the ISOM on December 12, China proposed "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together" as the theme for APEC 2026, with three priorities: openness, innovation and cooperation.
• Leaders' meeting: November 18-19, 2026, in Shenzhen, together with the CEO Summit and a joint ministerial meeting of foreign and trade ministers.
• Year-round program: About 300 related events are expected across multiple Chinese cities.
• Senior Officials' Meetings: Planned for Guangzhou in February, Shanghai in May and Dalian in August 2026.
• Sectoral ministerial meetings: From May 2026, about 10 ministerial meetings and high-level events will be held in different locations, covering trade, the digital economy, transportation, tourism, human resources, small and medium-sized enterprises, energy, food security, finance and women.

Guo said all parties had expressed active support for China's year-round arrangements and were willing to work together for fruitful outcomes.

Implications for Japan-Shenzhen Exchange

As a major APEC member, Japan is expected to be represented by government officials and business leaders at the leaders' meeting, related ministerial meetings and the CEO Summit. Hosting such a gathering is likely to give more overseas business people first-hand exposure to Shenzhen's industrial clusters and business environment.

The themes of the sectoral meetings, including the digital economy, SMEs, tourism and energy, also overlap with areas of interest to both Japanese and Shenzhen companies. Attention is also turning to how preparations for the meeting will advance the city's infrastructure and international service environment.

Outlook

Under the announced schedule, the APEC year will begin with the Senior Officials' Meeting in Guangzhou in February 2026, followed by meetings in Shanghai and Dalian and the sectoral ministerial meetings, culminating in the leaders' meeting in Shenzhen in November. The specific agendas of each meeting and the content of outcome documents remain to be worked out in future consultations.

From the Association

The Association will continue to follow international meetings held in Shenzhen. We will keep working to share useful information and to provide a platform for exchange between companies and organizations in Japan and Shenzhen.