China Urges APEC to Coordinate on AI, Supply Chains

China's Finance Minister Lan Foan told Asia-Pacific finance chiefs on Tuesday that their forum carries greater responsibility as the world economy faces overlapping shocks. He urged members to coordinate on artificial intelligence, supply chains and economic policy.

"APEC, as an engine of global economic growth, shoulders greater responsibility," Lan said as he opened the APEC Finance Ministers' meeting in Hong Kong. The 21-member Pacific Rim grouping includes the United States, Japan and Russia. Lan called on members to work more closely together to boost growth amid rapid global change and the fallout from geopolitical conflicts.

The pitch was familiar: when markets wobble and borders harden, countries fare better at the table than apart. Lan said the need for cooperation had become clearer as challenges to global growth intertwine and a new industrial transformation, exemplified by AI, gathers speed.

The Case for Coordination

China also called for closer coordination on macroeconomic policies, faster transformation and cooperation on AI, greater openness and more resilient supply chains. That's a long list. It's pointed, too, because each item touches workers and communities that absorb the costs when policy shifts in one capital ripple through the rest.

"Given the profound uncertainty in the current international environment, we should enhance the robustness of our own policies while strengthening communication and coordination to prevent negative spillovers resulting from policy adjustments," Lan said.

The language about spillovers matters. When a large economy changes course on trade, interest rates or industrial policy, smaller and poorer neighbors often pay through lost jobs, volatile prices and shrinking investment. Lan urged communication before adjustments rather than after, recognizing that risk, though he offered no mechanism for how members would hold one another to it.

AI, Digital and Green Growth

Lan urged governments to cooperate on AI, the digital economy and green-sector development, saying those efforts would create new sources of growth. He didn't explain how governments would share the gains or handle disruption for workers whose jobs new technologies might change. Those unanswered questions fall squarely on the public institutions that would have to manage the transition.

China, the world's second-largest economy, would continue comprehensive economic reforms, Lan said, without elaborating. That lack of detail leaves finance ministers and the public with a promise but no program.

What Comes Next

The Hong Kong meeting comes before the APEC leaders' summit scheduled for Shenzhen on November 18 and 19. Finance ministers' discussions typically lay the groundwork for what leaders can agree to, so the commitments—or lack of them—that emerge from Hong Kong will shape that agenda.

Why This Matters:

Supply chains, AI and macroeconomic policy aren't abstractions for people living with their consequences. When governments fail to coordinate, ordinary workers and consumers bear the volatility, while smaller economies have the least power to protect themselves. Lan's appeal for communication to prevent negative spillovers reflects a real need for multilateral guardrails. But his remarks stayed general: no new commitments, no details on China's reforms, and nothing on how AI and green growth benefits would reach those most exposed to change. With the leaders' summit weeks away in Shenzhen, the test is whether a forum that includes the United States, Japan, Russia and China can turn shared language into accountable, concrete action that protects people, not just growth figures.