On the morning of July 25, the APEC Data for Growth High-Level Roundtable was held in Chengdu. Liu Liehong, Chair of the Roundtable and Director of the National Data Administration; Shi Xiaolin, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Governor of the People's Government of Sichuan Province; Chen Xu, Chair of the 2026 APEC Senior Officials' Meeting; and Eduardo Pedrosa, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, attended the event and delivered speeches.

Liu Liehong said in his speech that at present, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation represented by artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating, and the role of data as a fundamental resource and an innovation engine is becoming increasingly apparent, profoundly changing production, lifestyle and governance models. Boosting data development and utilization and unleashing the value of data elements to drive economic growth has become an important task faced by all economies. We have forged consensus on the vision of "Data for Growth" and opened up new space for deeper APEC cooperation. We work together to promote mutual recognition of data rules, interconnectivity of data infrastructure, and sharing of data value, injecting new development momentum into the APEC family. Data for growth is reflected in many aspects such as scientific and technological innovation, AI development, industrial transformation and upgrading, the cultivation of emerging business formats, and the growth of digital trade. We believe that strengthening exchanges and cooperation centered on data for growth will help further enrich the connotation of APEC digital economy cooperation, achieve win-win and all-win results through practical cooperation, and offer new pathways for inclusive growth featuring shared prosperity. China is willing to work with all APEC economies to uphold openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning, mutual benefit and win-win results, jointly unleash the value of data elements, share digital development opportunities, and make new contributions to promoting innovation development, improving productivity and boosting economic growth across the Asia-Pacific region.

In her address, Shi Xiaolin quoted President Xi Jinping as saying at the 2026 World AI Conference, "China is ready to be more open, take more practical actions, and assume a more visionary perspective. We are ready to work with all parties to seize the opportunities of AI development and meet the challenges, and join hands to create a brighter future for humanity." In recent years, Sichuan has taken the digital economy as an important driving force in promoting high-quality development. It has accelerated the construction of the National Pilot Zone for Digital Economy Innovation and Development, the National Pilot Zone for AI Innovation and Application, and a hub of the national integrated computing power network. The province has vigorously advanced the reform on market-oriented allocation of data elements, improved the system for transforming data into usable resources, fostering data as a production factor, and unlocking data value, and promoted in-depth integration of the real economy and the digital economy. This has fostered a sound momentum under which the digital economy empowers all industries to pursue accelerated growth. This event serves not only as an important platform for APEC economies to discuss frontier ideas and advanced experience on data-driven development, but also as a valuable opportunity for Sichuan to advance innovative development of the digital economy. Shi Xiaolin expressed hope to leverage the APEC Digital Week as a bridge to strengthen mutual learning with all partners, deepen research on data governance rules, digital economy and trade systems, and digital technology standards, share innovative outcomes enabled by data and AI in industrial development, people's well-being, social governance and other fields, and build an open and collaborative digital ecosystem. Drawing on the APEC digital cooperation mechanism, Sichuan hopes to establish higher-level cooperation platforms for circulation of data elements, research on cutting-edge algorithms, and coordinated development of digital industries. The province will strive to deliver more practical results in the digital economy, digital society and smart cities, ensure that digital and AI technologies are for the positive and for good and are safe, secure and controllable, and continuously unleash fresh impetus for digital and AI cooperation. She also expressed that everyone is welcome to travel across Sichuan to experience the beauty of its natural ecology, the charm of its diverse culture, feel the pulse of the times in the "Land of Abundance", and jointly create a promising future empowered by digital and AI technologies through win-win cooperation.

Chen Xu said in his speech that at present, data has evolved from a mere carrier of information into a new type of production factor. How to meet the growing demand for data in the AI era, unleash data value and boost innovative economic growth are issues of common concern for all parties. We need to improve the development of data infrastructure to jointly narrow the AI divide; scale up the supply of high-quality data to support cross-industry and cross-sector integrated applications; and deepen the development and utilization of data resources, leverage the strengths of APEC's multi-tiered pragmatic cooperation mechanisms, and carry out policy communication and experience sharing, so as to fully unleash the value of data resources.

In his address, Eduardo Pedrosa noted that as one of the most important elements of economic resources, data can create value only when it flows and is shared. The growth of the digital economy depends on the ability to facilitate the flow of information and data, and on learning from each other, sharing experience and finding effective ways to cooperate, which is one of APEC's greatest advantages. He expressed hope that exchanges and cooperation will assist all member economies in strengthening regional cooperation and unleashing the value of data, to ensure that digital dividends are shared as widely as possible.

Yu Ying, Deputy Director of the National Data Administration, presided over the event. Representatives of APEC economies and observers held exchanges and discussions on topics such as advancing the development and utilization of data and promoting data-driven growth.

On the afternoon of July 25, a symposium on APEC data and AI empowering industrial development was held in Chengdu. Liu Liehong, Mayor of Chengdu Chen Shuping, and Eduardo Pedrosa delivered speeches. Mohammad Nazri Mohammad Yusof, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications of Brunei, and Zhan Yongxin, Co-Chair of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, delivered thematic speeches. The event also featured special discussions on data-enabled AI development as well as data and AI cooperation and exchanges in the logistics sector.

Dong Weimin, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Executive Vice Governor of the People's Government of Sichuan Province; representatives from APEC member economies, the APEC Secretariat and observers; representatives of international organizations; leading officials from relevant ministries and commissions, as well as leaders of relevant provincial departments attended relevant events.