Second APEC Senior Officials' Meeting Held in Shanghai to Prepare for November Summit

(CNA, Shanghai, May 18, by reporter Liao Wen-chi) The 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit will be hosted by China, and its second Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) was held in Shanghai today. China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ma Zhaoxu, stated that this meeting is in preparation for the Shenzhen summit in November. The second APEC Senior Officials' Meeting for 2026 is being held in Shanghai from May 18 to 19. According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, Vice Minister Ma Zhaoxu said at the opening ceremony that this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen will have "Building an Asia-Pacific Community and Promoting Common Prosperity" as its 2026 theme, with three priority areas identified: "Openness, Innovation, and Cooperation." This Senior Officials' Meeting will review mid-year progress and prepare for the Shenzhen Economic Leaders' Meeting. On May 12, Chang Chih-tsa, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Organizations at Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Taiwan is a full member of APEC and will send delegations to participate in the annual Senior Officials' Meetings, Ministerial Meetings, and the APEC Leaders' Meeting. As China hosts APEC Senior Officials' Meetings, Trade Ministers' Meetings, and Women and the Economy Forum meetings in different provinces and cities this year, Taiwan also has delegations attending, and the current participation plans are based on Taiwan's past treatment of equal participation. The APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting will also be held in Suzhou, China, from May 22 to 23. Taiwan will be represented by Minister without Portfolio and Chief Trade Negotiator of the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN), John Chen-chung Deng, leading officials from the OTN and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. China will host the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen from November 18 to 19. The Senior Officials' Meetings are the main channel for advancing APEC cooperation and preparing outcomes for the Leaders' Meeting, and will be held in Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Dalian in February, May, and August this year, respectively. (Editor: Chiu Kuo-chiang) 1150518