Lan Fo'an: Strengthen Macro Policy Coordination, Advance Regional Economic Integration, and Help Asia-Pacific Region Achieve Common Development and Prosperity

Lan Fo'an: Strengthen Macro Policy Coordination, Advance Regional Economic Integration, and Help Asia-Pacific Region Achieve Common Development and Prosperity From October 20 to 21, the 33rd APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting was held in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China. Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an pointed out that the current international situation is complex and volatile, the spillover effects of geopolitical conflicts are evident, and world economic growth faces multiple challenges. As a major economic cooperation platform in the Asia-Pacific region, APEC actively promotes open cooperation among members, strengthens macro policy coordination, advances regional economic integration, and helps the Asia-Pacific region achieve common development and prosperity. All parties should firmly implement the consensus of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, uphold multilateralism, deepen practical cooperation in the fiscal and financial fields, and contribute to regional economic and financial stability and long-term sustainable growth. The original text is as follows: 2026 APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting Held in Hong Kong From October 20 to 21, 2026, the 33rd APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting was held in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China. Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an chaired the meeting as its chair and delivered remarks, and Vice Minister Liao Min spoke on behalf of the Chinese side. Chen Xu, Chair of the 2026 APEC Senior Officials' Meeting, attended the meeting and delivered remarks. John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, attended the welcome dinner. More than 300 representatives from APEC member economies, APEC observers, and relevant international organizations attended the meeting. The meeting focused on the theme of APEC China Year, "Building an Asia-Pacific Community and Promoting Common Prosperity," and held discussions on topics including the global and regional macroeconomic and financial situation, fiscal policies supporting people's livelihood development, financing for digital infrastructure, promoting inclusive finance development in light of local conditions, and promoting exchanges and cooperation among young fiscal and financial talents in APEC. The meeting reviewed and adopted the 2026 APEC Finance Ministers' Joint Statement and the Asia-Pacific Regional Policy Statement on Financing Digital Infrastructure, charting the course for Asia-Pacific economies to deepen fiscal and financial cooperation. The meeting also produced outcome documents including the Report on Supporting People's Livelihood Development and Investing in People - Fiscal Policies for Promoting Sustainable Growth in the Asia-Pacific Region and the Compilation of Innovative Practices in Inclusive Finance in the Asia-Pacific Region, and agreed to continue advancing exchanges and cooperation among young fiscal and financial talents in the Asia-Pacific region. Lan Fo'an pointed out that the current international situation is complex and volatile, the spillover effects of geopolitical conflicts are evident, and world economic growth faces multiple challenges. As a major economic cooperation platform in the Asia-Pacific region, APEC actively promotes open cooperation among members, strengthens macro policy coordination, advances regional economic integration, and helps the Asia-Pacific region achieve common development and prosperity. All parties should firmly implement the consensus of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, uphold multilateralism, deepen practical cooperation in the fiscal and financial fields, and contribute to regional economic and financial stability and long-term sustainable growth. Lan Fo'an introduced the trend of China's economy continuing to move toward new, better, and improved development, and stressed that China will unswervingly promote high-quality development, accelerate the cultivation of new growth drivers, strive to expand domestic demand, continue to expand high-level opening up, and, with new achievements in Chinese modernization, provide new opportunities for the development of the Asia-Pacific region and the world. Before the meeting, a closed-door finance ministers' meeting and a working luncheon between finance ministers and Asia-Pacific business representatives were also held, with discussions respectively focused on promoting Asia-Pacific economic growth in a changing world and mobilizing private capital to support digital infrastructure development, achieving good results. During the meeting, Lan Fo'an held bilateral meetings upon request with Brunei's Minister in charge of the Treasury Liu Guangming, Vietnam's Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan, Australia's Treasurer Jim Chalmers, and Singapore's Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Jeffrey Siow, among others, exchanging views on the global and regional macroeconomic and financial situation, cooperation between China and relevant economies under the APEC and ASEAN Plus Three frameworks, and bilateral cooperation. Lan Fo'an also met with John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. This article is excerpted from the "Ministry of Finance" WeChat account, edited by GMTEight: Liu Jiayin.