APEC Finance Ministers Hold Hong Kong Press Conference, Release Joint Statement and Four Outcomes

Finance ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum held a press conference in Hong Kong on October 21, discussing macroeconomic policy coordination, financial inclusion and fiscal support for households, while releasing several outcome documents from the meeting.

Chinese officials attend the briefing

China's Finance Minister Lan Fo'an and Vice Finance Minister Liao Min attended the press conference, alongside Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director of the APEC Secretariat.

A joint statement and four key outcomes

Ministers adopted the 2026 APEC Finance Ministers' Joint Statement and released a policy statement on digital infrastructure financing. The meeting produced four main deliverables: a report on supporting households and investing in human capital through fiscal policy, a compendium on financial access and opportunity, an agreement to advance capacity building for young finance professionals, and the digital infrastructure financing policy statement.

A focus on inflation and policy coordination

Ministers stepped up coordination on macroeconomic policy to address inflation, rising interest rates and global instability, with discussions centering on financial inclusion for small and medium enterprises and on using fiscal support to boost household consumption and productivity.

Setting the stage for the APEC leaders' meeting

The gathering was the last ministerial level meeting before the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, set for November in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and organizers said it helped lay the groundwork for broader consensus among member economies on fiscal cooperation.