Thailand Advances Open Trade and Innovation at APEC Trade Ministers Forum
Thailand's commerce minister will attend China's APEC trade meeting in May to advance open trade, digital innovation, and sustainable economic cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region.
Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Supachee Sutheepanthu will participate in the 2025 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) meeting in the People's Republic of China, the host economy for this year's APEC forum, held May 22-23, 2025 in Suzhou, Zhejiang Province, under the theme 'Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together.'
Supachee stated that China will host the APEC MRT meeting, a ministerial-level platform within the APEC framework, to drive concrete outcomes across three priorities: 'Openness' to promote transparent, predictable open trade and economic systems at both regional and multilateral levels; 'Innovation' to create trade and investment cooperation mechanisms driven by modern technology and innovation; and 'Cooperation' to strengthen collaboration among APEC economies in tackling economic challenges sustainably.
The 2025 APEC MRT meeting will be a crucial opportunity for Thailand to present its vision and exchange perspectives to advance open, sustainable economic and trade cooperation responsive to new global economic dynamics. Thailand will also present its commitment to digital economic transformation under the National AI Strategy and support trusted cross-border data flows.
During the APEC MRT meeting, discussions will address promoting environment-friendly economics and trade, developing implementable AI governance frameworks, and strengthening capacity of developing economies and MSMEs to support future economic transition. A joint lunch between APEC commerce ministers and Chinese business representatives will provide opportunities to exchange views on digital economy and green energy.
Supachee revealed that Thailand will hold bilateral discussions with key economies including the People's Republic of China and Singapore to advance economic, trade, and investment cooperation, while affirming Thailand's role in supporting open trade systems and economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Thailand aims to promote trade facilitation, digital transformation, sustainable trade, and supply chain resilience to enhance economic efficiency and investor confidence under the APEC framework.
APEC comprises 21 member economies: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam. In 2024, Thailand's trade with APEC economies was valued at $494.65 billion, representing 72.24% of Thailand's total trade, with exports worth $237.58 billion and imports worth $257.06 billion.
