Liao Min, Vice Minister of Finance: Good morning, friends from the media. Welcome to this press conference for the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting. The 2026 APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting has just concluded successfully. Over one and a half days, finance ministers and representatives from APEC member economies, and heads of relevant international organizations held in-depth exchanges and discussions on the priorities of this year’s APEC Finance Ministers Process (FMP). They further consolidated consensus for cooperation and delivered positive, practical deliverables.

Today, we are honored to have Mr. Lan Fo’an, Chair of the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting and Minister of Finance of China, to brief you on the meeting. There will be no Q&A session. Now, let us welcome Minister Lan Fo’an.

Lan Fo’an, Minister of Finance: Friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Over the past few days, Chinese and overseas media have extensively covered this APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting. As Chair of the meeting, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you. With strong support and joint efforts from all participants and high-quality service support from the Hong Kong SAR Government, the meeting has completed all agenda items, delivered a package of practical deliverables, and achieved full success. I’d like to briefly introduce the meeting and its deliverables.

At present, profound changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world. The international landscape is intertwined with volatility and uncertainties. Spillover effects of geopolitical conflicts are spreading, and global economic growth faces multiple challenges. Meanwhile, as a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation represented by artificial intelligence is forging ahead, bringing fresh opportunities for global common development. As the premier economic cooperation platform in the Asia-Pacific, APEC has demonstrated greater responsibilities in promoting open cooperation and strengthening macro policy coordination among member economies.

China attaches great importance to mutually beneficial cooperation with Asia-Pacific economies. At the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting held last year, President Xi Jinping stressed the need to deepen financial and economic cooperation and steadily advance regional economic integration. Following this guidance, since the beginning of this year, the APEC Finance Ministers Process (FMP) has focused on the theme of Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together, and held the APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting, APEC Senior Finance Officials’ Meeting, and seminars on financial access and opportunity for all, and digital infrastructure financing. All members engaged in in-depth exchanges on global and regional macroeconomic and financial conditions and related priorities, reaching a set of consensuses and laying a solid foundation for the Finance Ministers’ Meeting. Over the past day and a half, member economies had candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges on the priorities of the FMP.

With strong support from all participants, the meeting adopted and issued the 2026 APEC Finance Ministers’ Joint Statement and the Policy Statement on Digital Infrastructure Financing Across the Asia-Pacific Region, setting out directions and guidance for APEC economies to deepen financial and economic cooperation. At the same time, the meeting also produced two  technical deliverables, the report on supporting households and investing in human capital: Fiscal Policy Considerations for Sustaining Economic Growth in APEC, and the Compendium on Financial Access and Opportunity for All. We also summarized the work on APEC Young Financial Talents Dialogue program. 

Overall, the meeting deepened consensus among Asia-Pacific economies in three dimensions. 

First, strengthen communication and coordination on macroeconomic policies and jointly respond to external risks and challenges. All members agreed that we should enhance the soundness of our respective macroeconomic policies, further strengthen macro policy communication and coordination, boost the resilience of fiscal and financial systems, better address uncertainties and destabilizing factors weighing on economic growth, and safeguard regional economic and financial stability. At the same time, we should fully unlock the potential of emerging technologies such as AI to raise productivity and cultivate new growth drivers, and inject new impetus into Asia-Pacific economic growth.

Second, promote practical financial and economic cooperation to support long-term sustainable economic development in the APEC Region. The meeting delivered a series of practical deliverables on fiscal policy supporting households, digital infrastructure financing, financial access and opportunity for all, and young financial talents dialogue. It provides strong support for regional economic development through more effective policy responses. All members emphasized translating relevant deliverables into concrete actions to continuously boost regional economic growth.

Third, advance regional integration and foster an Asia-Pacific community. The meeting forged broad consensus and vision on deepening Asia-Pacific financial and economic cooperation. It encouraged stronger multilateral cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, underscored the importance of the APEC FMP as a platform for regional economic and financial cooperation, and pledged to jointly tackle various risks and challenges and advance the building of the Asia-Pacific community.

To be specific, first, on fiscal policies supporting households, members stressed the important role of supporting households and investing in people in promoting household consumption, boosting internal demand and improving productivity. At the same time, we need to consolidate fiscal and financial discipline and ensure fiscal sustainability. Second, on digital infrastructure financing, members encouraged the public sector to focus on creating an enabling policy and regulation environment, supported the private sector to provide funding and facilitate innovative financing, and encouraged MDBs to play a catalyzing role and improve project preparation, so as to jointly provide financing for digital infrastructure. Third, on financial access and opportunity for all, members agreed that financial services should meet the diversified needs of individuals, households and enterprises, especially SMEs, and stressed the importance of experience and best practice sharing among APEC economies. Fourth, on Young Financial Talents Dialogue, China launched and hosted the APEC Young Financial Talent Dialogue program. All members highly recognized the effectiveness of the program and supported in principle to continue capacity-building and experience-sharing among young financial talents.

During the Finance Ministers’ Meeting, we also held a retreat where participants discussed the topic of “Promoting Asia-Pacific Economic Growth in a World in Flux” and reached broad consensus. A working luncheon was held between finance ministers and APEC Business Advisory Council to hear proposals on mobilizing private capital to support digital infrastructure, which achieved good results.

Against the current backdrop, these practical deliverables from the APEC FMP manifest the cooperative spirit of the APEC family: working together in harmony and embracing inclusiveness and mutual learning. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all member economies, international organizations and partners that have contributed to this year’s APEC Finance Minister’s Process. China will work with all member economies to implement the important consensus reached at this meeting and make positive contributions to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November. That’s all for my briefing. Thank you.

Liao Min, Vice Minister of Finance: Thank you, Minister Lan Fo’an, for your briefing. Thank all friends from the media for your participation. We welcome your continued attention to the series of meetings and events of APEC China Year. Our press conference concludes here. Thank you.