Director-General of the Department of International Economic Affairs participates in the 2026 APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting

During 10-13 December 2025, Ms. Rujikorn Saengchantr, Director-General of the Department of International Economic Affairs and Thailand's APEC Senior Official, participated in the 2026 APEC Informal Senior Officials' Meeting in Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.

As host of the APEC 2026, China presented its host-year theme, "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together," and three key priorities: "Openness. Innovation. Cooperation." These priorities focus on: (1) supporting an open and inclusive multilateral trading system, advancing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) agenda, and enhancing regional connectivity; (2) strengthening cooperation to address the rapid advancement of technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), by narrowing the digital divide, investing in digital infrastructure, and enhancing digital skills; and (3) promoting the cooperation within APEC, and between APEC and its external partners across various areas, including food security, energy, tourism, public health, transportation, finance, and structural reform.

Thailand reiterated its strong support for China's APEC 2026 host year and highlighted Thailand's priorities for APEC, which include (1) reaffirming commitment to multilateral trading system with WTO at its core, and strengthening the supply chain resilience (2) addressing opportunities and challenges arising from digital and AI, with particular emphasis on cybersecurity and online crime; and (3) advancing the sustainable development agenda, through the Bangkok Goals on BCG Economy and the BCG Award.

During APEC 2026, China plans to convene ten sectoral ministerial meetings, including Women and the Economy, Trade, Tourism, Digital and AI, Food Security, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Energy, Transportation, Human Resources Development, and Finance. China also plans to organize the Digital Week in parallel with the Digital and AI Ministerial Meeting.