Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau attended the video conference of the 37th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting yesterday evening.

The theme for APEC this year is “Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together”.

During a discussion session, Mr Yau emphasised that member economies must collaborate together through enhanced dialogue and co-operation to achieve shared prosperity amid rapidly evolving global landscape and technological advancements.

Citing digital transformation as an example, Mr Yau said that practical co-operation is essential for member economies to harness their respective strengths in digital technologies in a people-centred and inclusive manner. He added that Hong Kong is strengthening its research capacity in frontier technologies and launching programmes to promote public awareness and the responsible use of AI.

He urged member economies to continue to strengthen connectivity across various areas to enable the efficient flow of goods, services, capital and people, while narrowing development gaps and creating opportunities region-wide. He added that collaborative efforts among member economies should continue to be guided by the Putrajaya Vision 2040 and the Aotearoa Plan of Action.

At another discussion session, Mr Yau noted that enhancing economic integration remains a core objective of APEC, with advancing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) as a direction.

“As part of Hong Kong's wider efforts to contribute to the FTAAP agenda, we have been actively seeking early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. We welcome the establishment of the Accession Working Group for Hong Kong in September this year, and hope that our accession could inject fresh impetus into advancing the FTAAP agenda,” he said.

Mr Yau also highlighted the importance of enhancing co-operation to deal with the seismic changes in the trade landscape. As technological advancement increasingly transforms international trade, deepening co-operation in this area is vital for promoting cross-boundary trade and investment. He stated that Hong Kong fully supports the proposed Trade Digitalization Cooperation Framework as a guiding document for future co-operation.

He stressed that the multilateral trading system must remain the foundation of regional integration and international trade.

“We call on member economies to continue supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s reform agenda, incorporating plurilateral initiatives into the WTO framework, finding a permanent solution for the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, and facilitating the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce,” he said.