Marcos congratulates China on 2026 APEC Chairmanship

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday as China formally assumed the chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) for 2926.

The two leaders were seen exchanging handshakes during the handover turnover ceremony, where South Korea handed over the hosting of APEC China.

In a Facebook post, Marcos expressed the Philippines commitment to regional cooperation.

“I congratulated President Xi Jinping as China assumes the APEC Chairmanship in 2026, and reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to partnership and meaningful cooperation in our region,” Marcos said.

The Presidential Communications Office has not confirmed whether Marcos and Xi held bilateral talks during the summit. The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said no meeting between the two leaders was scheduled.

Marcos also joined his counterparts for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Retreat Session 2 at the Hwabaek InternationalF Convention Center in Gyeongju, with the discussions centering on the theme “Preparing a Future-Ready Asia-Pacific.”

On the sidelines of the Asia 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting at Hwabaek International Convention Center (HICO), he also met with Chilean President Gabriel Boric to discuss ways to bring Philippines-Chile relations closer despite the geographical distance.

21 APEC member economies came together to discuss pathways to shared prosperity under this year’s Summit theme, “Building a Sustainable Tomorrow: Connect, Innovate, Prosper,’ with the Republic of Korea serving as the host economy.

APEC’s member economies are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United States of America, and Viet Nam.