2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Conference Held in Chengdu
The Zhitong Finance App learned that on July 23, the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Conference press conference was held in Chengdu. Wei Wei, director of the Science and Technology Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, mentioned that China is actively embracing the development of artificial intelligence and fully implementing the “Artificial Intelligence +” campaign. According to estimates, in 2025, China's core artificial intelligence industry surpassed 1.2 trillion yuan, the number of enterprises exceeded 6,200, AI glasses, AI phones, AI computers, etc. competed to emerge, humanoid robots began to “work in factories”, and the cumulative number of open source models downloaded more than 10 billion times, ranking first in the world. This is not only a remarkable achievement of China's “Artificial Intelligence +”, but also lays a solid foundation for cooperation between China and APEC economies in the field of artificial intelligence.
The original text is as follows:
2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Conference Held in Chengdu
On July 23, the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Conference was held in Chengdu. Chairman of the conference and Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng attended the press conference. Together with Wei Wei, Director of the Science and Technology Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and Liu Bochao, Director of the International Cooperation Department, he introduced the relevant situation and answered questions from reporters. The following is a transcript of the press conference.
Press conference host Gong Xian: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to today's press conference. The 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Meeting has just successfully concluded. At the meeting, representatives of digital and artificial intelligence authorities from various APEC economies had in-depth exchanges and discussions focusing on topics such as digital transformation and artificial intelligence innovation and development, further forging consensus on cooperation. Today, we are honored to invite Mr. Li Lecheng, Chairman of the Conference and Minister of Industry and Information Technology of China, to brief everyone on the conference and answer questions raised by reporters and friends. Also attending today's press conference were Mr. Wei Wei, Director of the Science and Technology Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, and Mr. Liu Bochao, Director of the International Cooperation Department. I am the host of this press conference, Gong Xian, press spokesman for China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. First, I would like Minister Li Lecheng to give an introduction.
Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, friends of the press! Recently, Chinese and foreign media made comprehensive publicity reports on the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Meeting. As the chairman of the conference, I sincerely thank my friends for their concern and support. Thanks to the strong support and joint efforts of all participants, Sichuan Province and Chengdu, the Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Conference has successfully completed various agendas and achieved fruitful results. Let me first give a brief introduction.
On July 17, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Conference on Artificial Intelligence Global Governance, putting forward 4 opinions on “adhering to openness and win-win situation, driving innovation and development; strengthening risk awareness to ensure safety and controllability; encouraging inclusiveness and mutual learning among civilizations; and promoting mutual learning among civilizations; and promoting mutual cooperation and improving global governance”. Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing of the State Council made a special trip to attend the opening ceremony of the Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Meeting and delivered a speech, fully demonstrating the importance the Chinese government attaches to APEC exchanges and cooperation in the field of digital and artificial intelligence. The conference focused on the theme of “Empowering the Asia-Pacific Community with Digital and Artificial Intelligence Technology”, which is highly compatible with the 2026 APEC “China Year” theme “Building the Asia-Pacific Community and Promoting Common Prosperity”. Ministers and representatives from various APEC member economies, APEC observers, APEC Secretariat, and APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) attended the meeting. Economies had candid, in-depth, and constructive exchanges and discussions on the three topics of “strengthening the enabling development of digital and artificial intelligence technology,” “promoting universal and meaningful digital connectivity,” and “supporting digital inclusion and digital skill improvement.” Through unremitting efforts, the conference reached an important achievement of the “Chengdu Declaration”, the “2026 APEC Ministerial Statement on Digital and Artificial Intelligence”, which sets up an action framework for APEC to deepen cooperation in the field of digital and artificial intelligence for some time to come and empower regional innovation and development. Overall, the conference had the following highlights.
The first is to forge a consensus that digital intelligence empowers innovation and development. Currently, innovation in the field of digital and artificial intelligence is unprecedented, and it has become an important driving force for global economic growth and a key priority area for APEC cooperation. The conference closely followed the in-depth discussions on the topic of “Empowering Digital Intelligence”. All parties agreed that digital and artificial intelligence technology are unleashing huge potential for promoting sustainable growth, empowering the Asia-Pacific Community in all aspects and improving productivity levels in the Asia-Pacific region.
Second, I have deepened the understanding that risk prevention ensures safety and control. Technological innovation represented by artificial intelligence is accelerating breakthroughs. It not only contains huge opportunities, but also faces governance challenges. Great attention should be paid to the various endogenous and derivative risks that artificial intelligence may cause. The conference called for strengthening policy dialogue, establishing a firm safety bottom line, sharing useful practices to prevent abuse and misuse, and jointly creating a safe, reliable, credible and resilient development environment.
Third, it highlights a direction, which is to promote common prosperity through cooperation. The history of the prosperity and development of the Asia-Pacific region shows that development is possible only through cooperation. Failure to cooperate is the biggest risk, and engaging in “decoupling and breaking the chain” is of no benefit to anyone. The ability of Asia-Pacific economies to meet in Chengdu reflects the direction of adhering to win-win cooperation and the will to complement each other's advantages. It will stimulate innovation through exchanges and mutual appreciation, and seek common development through mutual achievements.
Fourth, we have achieved a goal of inclusiveness and shared results. The conference agreed that it is necessary to strengthen digital and artificial intelligence infrastructure construction in the Asia-Pacific region, promote connectivity, promote universal and meaningful digital connectivity, unleash the empowering potential of digital and artificial intelligence technology in the fields of industry, agriculture, health care, education, transportation, culture, etc., bridge the digital and smart divide in the Asia-Pacific region, and allow development results to be shared comprehensively.
Fifth, we have adhered to the concept of working together to build an open innovation ecosystem. All parties are fully aware that under the wave of digital and artificial intelligence, only mutual openness based on common interests can significantly improve innovation efficiency. The conference reaffirmed the “APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040” as a guide to implement the “APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap” and the “APEC Artificial Intelligence Initiative (2026-2030)” to inject strong digital momentum into building an open, dynamic, strong and peaceful Asia-Pacific community.
Let me give you a brief introduction to these first. Next, my colleagues and I would love to answer questions from journalists and friends. Thank you all.
US CNBC
What results did this conference achieve in international cooperation on artificial intelligence, especially in terms of security, commerce, and promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship, and in driving the balanced development of APEC economies in the era of artificial intelligence, especially supporting open source models and providing computing power and energy resources?
Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng: Thank you for your question. I will answer this question. As we mentioned earlier, the conference reached the “Chengdu Declaration”, the “2026 APEC Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Statement”, and agreed to jointly promote digital and artificial intelligence technology to empower the Asia-Pacific Community. This heavy ministerial statement is not only a consensus among APEC economies to jointly promote practical cooperation, but also sends a positive signal that APEC economies firmly support open innovation cooperation, jointly embrace digital and artificial intelligence technology, and work together to shape new advantages in innovation and development in the Asia-Pacific region. It injected stable expectations and strong confidence into global economic recovery, and also contributed to the November informal leaders' meeting. Just now, this journalist and friend paid attention to the specific content of the conference results from various perspectives. I will introduce them from the following aspects:
The first is to promote universal and meaningful digital connectivity. On the basis of consolidating the results achieved, the conference further emphasized speeding up the construction of communication and computing power infrastructure, encouraging enhanced international cooperation, building ubiquitous digital infrastructure, improving the affordability, accessibility and quality of networks in rural and remote areas, and paying special attention to digital access for groups such as women, youth, the elderly, and the disabled, to promote the construction of a more inclusive and balanced Asia-Pacific digital community.
The second is to promote digital and artificial intelligence technology to enable economic growth. The consensus reached at the conference, in particular some specific explanations on promoting the digital and intelligent transformation of traditional industries, supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to use lightweight digital tools to enhance competitiveness, and using artificial intelligence to empower thousands of industries and enhance human welfare, provided economies in the Asia-Pacific region with a people-oriented development path adapted to local conditions.
The third is to improve digital literacy and skills. This ministerial meeting gave prominence to digital inclusion and digital skills. The statement made it clear that educational opportunities will be expanded, best practices and experiences in digital education will be shared, and personal digital literacy and skills will be enhanced. The conference believes that strengthening public awareness and understanding of artificial intelligence is essential, and advocates enhancing the ability of people in various economies to use artificial intelligence through joint training and public education, and reserving human resources for the long-term prosperity of the digital economy in the Asia-Pacific region.
Fourth, develop a safe, reliable, trustworthy, and resilient digital environment. Some specific statements have also been made in this regard. All parties are aware of the risks posed by digital and artificial intelligence technology, and agree to adhere to integrated development and security, share practical experiences in the fields of cybersecurity, data security, supply chain resilience, digital infrastructure resilience, anti-cyber fraud, etc., and promote dialogue between government departments, the private sector, academia, and civil society.
The fifth is to build a digital ecosystem empowered by investment and open source. For the first time, the current ministerial meeting emphasized “open source” to the level of APEC ministerial cooperation. While acknowledging the importance of respecting intellectual property rights, all economies are encouraged to support open source practices and actively participate in international open source community collaboration on artificial intelligence.
As a responsible power and an important member of the “Global South,” China has always been an advocate, promoter, and pioneer of international cooperation such as artificial intelligence capacity building, global governance, and digital intelligence empowerment. China will continue to promote the role of the APEC mechanism, strengthen cooperation with various economies, implement the consensus reached at this meeting, deepen exchanges and cooperation, bridge the smart divide, share the dividends of digital intelligence, and create a better future together. Those are my answers, thank you.
Phoenix TV
Currently, global artificial intelligence technology is being iterated at an accelerated pace, and integrated applications continue to be deepened, and China is also fully implementing the “Artificial Intelligence +” campaign. How will China accelerate the development and all-round empowerment of the AI industry and strengthen cooperation with APEC economies in the field of artificial intelligence in the future?
Wei Wei, Director of the Science and Technology Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Thank you for your question. China is actively embracing the development of artificial intelligence and is fully implementing the “Artificial Intelligence +” initiative. According to estimates, in 2025, China's core artificial intelligence industry surpassed 1.2 trillion yuan, the number of enterprises exceeded 6,200, AI glasses, AI phones, AI computers, etc. competed to emerge, humanoid robots began to “work in factories”, and the cumulative number of open source models downloaded more than 10 billion times, ranking first in the world. This is not only a remarkable achievement of China's “Artificial Intelligence +”, but also lays a solid foundation for cooperation between China and APEC economies in the field of artificial intelligence. In the next step, China will implement the “Global Artificial Intelligence Governance Initiative” proposed by President Xi Jinping, and use the results of this ministerial meeting as an opportunity to work with APEC economies to jointly promote the development and all-round empowerment of the AI industry. Specifically, it is progressing from three aspects.
The first is to strengthen open source innovation cooperation. The development of artificial intelligence requires an innovative environment of open mutual trust. China actively promotes the deep integration of artificial intelligence technology innovation and industrial innovation, accelerates breakthroughs in artificial intelligence chips and cutting-edge algorithms, implements “module-digital resonance” actions, strengthens the two-way empowerment of “models” and “data”, and builds high-quality data sets for the development needs of artificial intelligence. Encourage the construction of open source AI projects, and continue to reduce and eliminate technical barriers. Jointly build various innovation platforms with APEC economies to strengthen technical exchanges and transformation of achievements, support the flow of knowledge, technology, and talents, and promote intelligence for good and technological inclusion.
The second is to jointly expand scenarios to enable applications. Scenario-driven and application-driven are important methods and experiences in developing artificial intelligence in China. China is actively promoting artificial intelligence to empower thousands of industries, in particular by thoroughly implementing the “Artificial Intelligence+Manufacturing” campaign, sorting out and opening up high-value application scenarios on an industry-by-industry basis, cultivating artificial intelligence application service providers, building a number of industrial intelligence agents, and accelerating the application of artificial intelligence in R&D, design, testing and manufacturing. China will work with APEC economies to create high-value scenarios and typical applications, and is willing to provide smart terminals and solutions that are affordable and have good performance to help economies transform and upgrade their economies intelligently.
The third is to strengthen coordination in security management. The risks posed by artificial intelligence are a common global challenge, and it is necessary to ensure that artificial intelligence becomes a trusted tool for humans. China is committed to integrated development and security, and is continuously improving relevant laws, regulations, policy systems, application standards and ethical standards. Taking ethical governance as an example, China has implemented the AI Technology Ethics Review and Service Pilot Program and is the first in the world to carry out AI science and technology ethics review practices. It just released the “International Artificial Intelligence Ethical Governance Action Plan” last week, which has received positive responses from all parties. Under the APEC framework, China will share the “China Plan” for artificial intelligence governance, strengthen policy and regulatory coordination with various economies, promote mutual recognition of standards, jointly carry out risk monitoring, early warning and emergency treatment, and work together to improve the safety, reliability and controllability of artificial intelligence. Thank you.
China Central Radio and Television CGTN
We have noticed that during this ministerial meeting, China will also host a series of events such as the APEC High-Level Dialogue on Digital Intelligence Empowerment and related exhibitions. Can you explain the relevant situation?
Liu Bochao, Director of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Thank you for your question. Referring to APEC practices, the Chinese side simultaneously supported a series of events such as high-level dialogues on digital intelligence empowerment and project seminars on the basis of closed-door government discussions, and set up a special exhibition area on digital intelligence empowerment to build a platform for in-depth exchanges of government, industry, education, research and use among Asia-Pacific economies and a vehicle for practical cooperation, enriching the results of the Ministerial Meeting. The following three aspects are described in detail.
High-Level Dialogue on Digital Empowerment. The high-level dialogue event was aimed at government departments, academic institutions, well-known enterprises, industry associations, etc. of APEC economies. Tomorrow, about 400 representatives from more than 10 APEC economies will participate. The dialogue set out two topics around the main line of empowerment. The first is to promote digital transformation and empower thousands of industries: focus on open source ecology, intelligent manufacturing, digital security, and digital finance to break common bottlenecks in the digital transformation of industries in various economies; the second is to develop artificial intelligence to improve people's livelihood and welfare: focus on the inclusive application of artificial intelligence, smart medical care, urban governance, and humanoid robots, and dig deeper into the convenient and beneficial application scenarios of digital and artificial intelligence technology. The “Asia-Pacific Digital Intelligence Empowerment Case Collection” will also be released at the conference, focusing on fields such as artificial intelligence models, intelligent manufacturing, green computing power, and cross-border digital trade. 64 cases from 46 institutions in the Asia-Pacific region will be included to contribute diversified practices that can be learned and promoted to various Asia-Pacific economies and help deepen practical regional cooperation.
About the project workshop. The six economies of Australia, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and the United States held separate project seminars. In addition to policy updates, expert interpretation, and business practice sharing, each seminar also included a question and answer session. Delegates from each economy had lively discussions on issues such as capacity building, artificial intelligence transformation for small and medium-sized enterprises, artificial intelligence security development, and cybersecurity, and jointly developed strategies for the development of digital intelligence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Special exhibition on empowering digital intelligence. The exhibition area is located on the 5th floor of the venue. I think everyone has interacted with the robots and digital pandas on display these days, and also experienced fun digital cultural and creative products. A total of 21 companies and industry organizations from China, Japan, and the US participated in the special exhibition, including Google, Meta, HP, Panasonic, Tencent, ZTE, Alibaba, autonomous robots, Changhong, and Zhiyuan Innovation, covering fields such as humanoid robots, smart healthcare, digital transformation, AI models, smart energy, cross-border payments, etc., and integrates various forms such as physical prototyping, dynamic presentation, and real-time interaction to intuitively show the results of digital intelligence technology implementation. At the same time, the special exhibition also set up face-to-face negotiation channels for Chinese and foreign companies, transforming conference exchanges into the effectiveness of industrial cooperation. The above is an introduction to the series of side events of this Ministerial Meeting. Thank you.
Xinhua News Agency
At this conference, various economies fully exchanged views on Asia-Pacific digital industry cooperation. Next, how will China rely on the APEC platform to push economies to deepen technical exchanges and industrial cooperation in the digital industry and achieve win-win development in an open environment?
Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng: Thank you for your question. I will answer this question. We mentioned earlier that at this meeting, various economies had a full exchange of views and reached a broad consensus on deepening cooperation in the Asia-Pacific digital industry. Next, China is willing to use this conference as an opportunity to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with various economies in the digital industry to achieve mutually beneficial and win-win development.
On the one hand, we should give full play to the role of the APEC mechanism as a platform to promote exchanges and cooperation between governments. The APEC Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Meeting (formerly APEC Telecom Ministerial Meeting) and the APEC Telecom Working Group are among the earliest APEC ministerial meetings and working groups established by APEC. Over the past 30 years, APEC telecom cooperation has continued to deepen and become more practical, driving the Asia-Pacific region to become a highland of global innovation and growth. Facing the future, China is ready to strengthen cooperation with all parties, rely on APEC related institutional platforms, give full play to the advantages of all parties in digital infrastructure, digital technology, industrial application and innovation ecology, deepen practical cooperation in technological innovation, standard research, scenario exploration, talent training and project implementation, and promote the gathering and sharing of resource elements and innovative application of digital technology.
On the other hand, build an open and win-win digital industry ecosystem and promote deepening practical cooperation among enterprises. Enterprises are the main force in innovation cooperation. Government departments should provide a better environment and services for enterprise innovation and development, and continuously stimulate the innovation vitality of enterprises. At the same time, digital enterprises are encouraged to strengthen cross-border exchanges, expand channels for cooperation in the digital industry, promote the flow of capital, technology and talent, and jointly solve practical problems facing industrial development through various forms such as technology promotion and joint research and development. China is ready to work with all economies to create an open, inclusive, fair, just and non-discriminatory digital economy development environment, establish a collaborative innovation, open sharing, mutually beneficial and win-win digital industry cooperation pattern, further expand market access, deepen mutual recognition and connection of technical standards, break down barriers to industrial cooperation, encourage enterprises in all economies to invest and develop businesses within the region, implement national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises, and continue to create a first-class business environment.
Currently, global development is facing serious challenges, and the development gap is widening. In response, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative, contributing Chinese wisdom and China's solutions to the outstanding problems in the world today. China looks forward to working with all parties to make good use of the APEC platform, implement the various agreements in the “Chengdu Declaration”, strengthen cooperation in technological innovation, jointly expand the Asia-Pacific development cake, and push the Asia-Pacific digital industry cooperation from a “blueprint” to a “reality.” We firmly believe that as long as all of us uphold the concept of open cooperation and move in the opposite direction, we will definitely be able to promote the continuous development of the digital industry in the Asia-Pacific region and inject a steady stream of new momentum into building the Asia-Pacific community and promoting common prosperity. Thank you.
Press conference host Gong Xian: Thank you to all the publishers for their presentations, thank you to all the reporters and friends for participating, and we also welcome everyone to continue to pay attention to the follow-up High-Level Dialogue on Digital Intelligence Empowerment and other APEC Digital Week related events. That's all for today's press conference, bye.
This article was edited by Gongxin WeChat, Zhitong Finance Editor: Chen Wenfang.