APEC is an important platform for regional economic cooperation, and "at present, Asia-Pacific cooperation is also faced with challenges such as geopolitics, unilateralism and protectionism", he said.

"Building consensus among various parties and deepening cooperation in various fields is conducive to jointly addressing regional economic challenges and making the Asia-Pacific region more prosperous."

Lee Jae-woong, spokesman and deputy minister for public affairs of the ROK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said APEC economies face similar economic challenges.

"The ROK will make the APEC event a success, so will China," he told China Daily. "China will build on the achievements of this year's event and make its original contributions next year," he added.

Liu Chenyang, director of the APEC Study Center of Nankai University in Tianjin, said areas for cooperation have rapidly expanded from traditional ones such as trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, economic and technological cooperation to include areas based on high-quality growth, such as the digital economy, innovation, and green and low-carbon development.

Small and medium-sized, and developing economies urgently need to build development momentum through regional cooperation while seeking opportunities to narrow development gaps and bridge the digital divide, Liu said. "APEC has a significant strength in this regard," he said.

Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Cao Zhongming said Beijing is looking forward to strengthening coordination with various parties to "jointly advance open regionalism and create an East Asian Moment for APEC".

"As long as we uphold the principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, deepen cooperation, and jointly address challenges, we will surely drive regional cooperation to new heights and make a greater contribution to peace and prosperity in Asia and beyond," Cao said when addressing a symposium in Singapore last month.