On February 10, 2026, the plenary session of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2026 First Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) was held in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the opening session and delivered remarks. This SOM is the first official event held by China as the APEC host in 2026, aiming to lay the groundwork and accumulate outcomes for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting to be held in November.

All participating parties engaged in in-depth discussions centered on the theme of the APEC "China Year" "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together" and the three priorities of openness, innovation, and cooperation. The participants further broadened consensus on advancing trade and investment cooperation, deepening the development of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, enhancing connectivity, strengthening digital economy cooperation, and promoting universally beneficial and inclusive development. They also proposed a series of envisioned outcomes and work plans for the year. All parties highly appreciated China's firm commitment to Asia-Pacific regional cooperation, and expressed their willingness to actively support China in hosting APEC meetings, jointly strive for fruitful results for the APEC "China Year", and make greater contributions to the development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region.

Prior to the SOM, various APEC committees and working groups held over 50 meetings from February 1 to 9, covering a wide range of areas including economic and technical cooperation, trade and investment, food security, science and technology, anti-corruption, people-to-people exchanges, health, and customs. More than 1,400 representatives from member economies of APEC, the APEC Secretariat, APEC observers, and the APEC Business Advisory Council attended the SOM and related meetings.

APEC is the most important economic cooperation mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region. As the host of APEC in 2026, China will host about 300 meetings and events throughout the year. The Second SOM and related meetings will be held in Shanghai in May.