China's trade with other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies will continue to expand as deeper regional economic integration, closer industrial cooperation and growing demand for high-tech and green products create new growth drivers, said officials and business leaders.
Stronger industrial links and rising demand for advanced technologies will help diversify trade, reinforce regional supply chains and support economic growth across the Asia-Pacific region, they added.
Lyu Daliang, director of the General Administration of Customs' department of statistics and analysis, noted that innovation has become a key driver of trade growth between China and other APEC economies.
"Closer cooperation in electronics, automobiles and machinery has strengthened industrial and innovation ties, boosting trade in high-tech products," he said.
China's trade value in high-tech products with other APEC economies surged 50.3 percent year-on-year to reach 6.66 trillion yuan ($988 billion) in the first three quarters of 2026, exceeding the total for the whole of last year.
The country's imports of electronic components from other APEC economies increased 56 percent during the same period, data from the GAC shows.
Liu Chenyang, director of the APEC Study Center at Nankai University in Tianjin, said that APEC's flexible, nonbinding approach provides an important platform for dialogue amid rising geopolitical tensions and growing uncertainty in global trade.
Carlos Kuriyama, director of the policy support unit at the APEC Secretariat in Singapore, pointed out that joint efforts by APEC economies to safeguard energy security, strengthen the trading system and maintain fiscal stability are no longer optional, but essential.
Masaharu Nakayama, executive vice-president of Japanese industrial conglomerate Panasonic Corp, said the Asia-Pacific region's economic vitality stems from openness and cooperation, emphasizing that trade protectionism disrupts industrial and supply chains and undermines long-term development.
The business community should promote deeper integration of supply chains and value chains under the framework of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, enhance connectivity and explore new growth opportunities in artificial intelligence, the digital economy and sustainable development, he added.
Customs statistics show that China's trade with other APEC economies reached 24.07 trillion yuan during the January-September period, up 23.9 percent year-on-year, accounting for 60.3 percent of the country's total foreign trade.
To date, China has signed free trade agreements with 15 other APEC economies, providing institutional support for deeper regional economic and trade cooperation.
Ningbo Haomi Information Technology Co, a manufacturer of electromechanical products — such as ice makers and snowblowers — based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, is expanding its presence in APEC markets, with the United States among its major export destinations.
Data from Ningbo Customs shows that the company's electromechanical product exports to APEC economies soared more than 78 percent year-on-year to 60.2 million yuan in the first nine months.
Wu Fan, operations director at Ningbo Haomi, said that closer cooperation among APEC economies and greater trade facilitation will help the company maintain stable partnerships with US customers, reduce logistics costs and ensure timely deliveries.
The rapid expansion of AI and data centers in the Asia-Pacific region has also fueled demand for power generation equipment, creating new growth opportunities for Leroy Somer Electro-Technique (Fuzhou) Co, a foreign-invested generator manufacturer based in Fuzhou, Fujian province.
The company's exports increased 21 percent year-on-year to 757 million yuan in the first nine months, driven by strong demand from APEC economies including Australia, Canada, South Korea and Malaysia, according to Fuzhou Customs.
Huang Jiyun, administrative director at Leroy Somer, said that to meet growing overseas orders, the company has leased an additional 20,000 square meters of production space and added four production lines in Fuzhou this year.
"We also plan to expand production of power generation equipment for cleaner energy sources," Huang added. - China Daily/ANN
