Held under the theme "APEC and the Future of Inclusive Development,"the 13th International Conference of the Institute for Public Policy (IPP) of South China University of Technology(SCUT) took place on Aug. 23, 2026, on the university's Wushan Campus in Guangzhou. Participants explored the future of regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, seeking to build consensus and provide intellectual support for openness and cooperation in the region.

The meeting came as APEC, founded in 1989, sails into headwinds of resurgent protectionism and mounting pressure on globalization. With the Shenzhen summit approaching, the conference sought to provide intellectual input on whether the forum can sustain its tradition of cooperation and keep charting the region's development course — what the organizers described as building a bridge of mutual learning for openness and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.

In his opening remarks, Mai Junhong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee of SCUT, noted that amid a complex and volatile global environment, artificial intelligence and the green, low-carbon transition are opening new space for Asia-Pacific development. Sustaining an open, cooperative regional architecture that benefits all economies is a shared responsibility, he said, adding that SCUT is expanding academic exchanges across the region and leveraging its think tank expertise to help the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area serve as a front-line hub linking China with the Asia-Pacific.

Zheng Yongnian, convener of the conference and chair of IPP's Academic Committee, said the stability of APEC depends to a large extent on cooperation among major powers. He attributed the current difficulties in the US-China relationship to global economic imbalances accumulated since the 2008 financial crisis. Restoring balance, he argued, requires going beyond China and the US and expanding global demand through holistic worldwide development. "Economic decoupling between China and the US is neither realistic nor feasible,"Zheng said. “On the contrary, there is a solid foundation and genuine demand for cooperation.” With multiple opportunities for engagement between the two countries’ heads of state in the coming months, he expressed confidence that the two countries can maintain cooperation and strategic stability, contributing to peace and development in the world.

In the keynote address, Edward Yau, former Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Hong Kong SAR Government and Distinguished Non-resident Fellow at the Centre for Contemporary China and the World of the University of Hong Kong (CCCW) spoke on "Beacon and the Storm: Keeping APEC Afloat in an Age of Friction." He examined the four dimensions of APEC — Asia-Pacific identity, peace in the Pacific, economic orientation and a spirit of cooperation — and the challenges each faces today. Noting that more than 200 trade agreements across the region have woven a "life jacket" of institutions — alongside the upgraded China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the deepening Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) — Yau said geopolitical differences have not halted regional economic cooperation. In his view, APEC, as an open platform connecting economies at different stages of development, is demonstrating the enduring value of its long-accumulated tradition of dialogue and cooperation. He expressed hope that China would exercise leadership as APEC host in defending open regionalism, and called on all parties to abandon zero-sum thinking.

文、图 | 记者 付怡 通讯员 周浩锴 刘深