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Global leaders are preparing to gather in Shenzhen next week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, where efforts to strengthen regional economic ties will unfold alongside renewed U.S.-China diplomacy. The gathering will bring together representatives from 21 member economies to address trade barriers, economic integration, and the opportunities and challenges presented by emerging technologies.

Ahead of the summit, APEC ministers called for closer cooperation on digital trade and AI, more resilient supply chains, and improvements to the infrastructure and customs systems that support cross-border commerce. The summit will also provide an important opportunity for U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to build on recent efforts to stabilize bilateral relations.

For Washington and Beijing, the anticipated meeting comes as both countries extend suspensions on a range of trade measures through January 10, 2027. Earlier this week, China announced that it would maintain pauses on additional tariffs, certain export controls, and port fees on U.S.-linked vessels, following a similar move by the United States.

Preparations for the Trump-Xi meeting also advanced this week during a phone call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. During the conversation, Beijing emphasized strengthening cooperation and managing differences and sensitive issues, while Washington highlighted opportunities to advance peace and denuclearization, including through a possible trilateral leaders' meeting with Russia. The U.S. State Department said both sides recognized the importance of high-level dialogue on these issues, although an official meeting has not been confirmed.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlined plans for continued cooperation with China on advanced artificial intelligence. Speaking this week, Bessent said the two countries had established a new dialogue on superintelligence to address shared risks and reduce the potential for misunderstandings. He described plans to exchange practices for evaluating and testing advanced AI models before release, maintain human oversight, and establish a direct channel for notifying each other of serious incidents involving these systems.

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