APEC Forestry Ministers Meet in Shenzhen After 15-Year Gap

For the first time in 15 years, APEC forestry ministers will convene on Chinese soil when the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Forestry opens in Shenzhen on July 27-28, 2026. The meeting, themed “Building a Green Asia-Pacific, Sharing Ecological Well-being,” will bring together high-level representatives from APEC member economies, the APEC Secretariat, and international organizations including the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) to discuss forest conservation, sustainable management, and technological innovation, according to Shenzhen Government Online.

Context and Significance

The last APEC forestry ministerial meeting held in China was the inaugural Beijing gathering in September 2011, opened by then-President Hu Jintao. Subsequent meetings took place in Cusco, Peru; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; and Chiang Mai, Thailand — but none returned to China until now, as Wood Central reported.

The 2026 meeting is a key event in APEC “China Year,” with its outcomes expected to feed into the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Informal Meeting scheduled for November 18-19 in Shenzhen. The meeting is guided by the Ministry of Natural Resources and jointly hosted by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, and the Shenzhen Municipal Government.

Key Developments

At a press conference in Beijing on July 9, NFGA Deputy Director Li Yunqing outlined the meeting’s significance, describing it as a high-level dialogue platform to build consensus and take joint action. He highlighted its “triple positive significance” for improving global ecological governance, serving regional sustainable development, and broadening cooperation platforms, as Xinhua News Agency reported.

Li also presented China’s forestry credentials, noting that the country’s planted forest area has reached 1.3 billion mu (approximately 86.7 million hectares) — the largest in the world — with forest coverage exceeding 25% and forest stock volume reaching 20.988 billion cubic meters. China contributes approximately 25% of the world’s new green area, making it the fastest and largest contributor to global greening.

According to China Daily, Gong Yumei, director of the APFNet Coordination Centre, revealed that the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation has funded more than 50 demonstration projects across over 20 Asia-Pacific economies, with total investment exceeding US$45 million. “These projects act both as ‘test beds’ for locally tailored forest restoration,” Gong said, describing the portfolio as “green seeds” spreading ecological concepts across the region.

Analysis and Implications

The meeting carries significant political weight as a showcase of China’s leadership in regional environmental governance during APEC “China Year.” The Asia-Pacific region holds more than half of the world’s forest area, 60% of global forest product output, and 40% of forest product trade, according to figures released by Li Yunqing. The region also accounts for nearly half of the world’s mangrove resources.

Shenzhen itself serves as a living case study for the meeting’s themes. The city, which transformed from a small fishing village into a modern metropolis with a GDP of 3,873.18 billion yuan in 2025, has pioneered ecological protection alongside economic development. In the 1990s, Shenzhen moved the planned Binhai Boulevard 260 meters north to protect mangrove wetlands — a controversial decision at the time but now regarded as visionary. The city is home to the Futian Mangrove National Nature Reserve, the only national nature reserve located in a city center in China, and hosts the newly established International Mangrove Center, which launched with 18 founding member countries in November 2024 and has since expanded to 21 members.

What’s Next

The Shenzhen meeting is expected to produce consensus outcomes that will be presented to APEC leaders in November. Key areas of focus include forest protection and sustainable management, balancing ecological protection with livelihood development, and technological innovation in forestry. The meeting will also feature site visits to Shenzhen’s wetland restoration and urban forest projects, offering delegates a firsthand look at the city’s “Mountain-Sea-City Connection” planning philosophy.

As Xia Jun, Director of International Cooperation at NFGA, noted, Shenzhen “vividly interprets the development concept that ‘lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets’ and has created a new paradigm of Chinese-style modernization.” The outcomes of this ministerial meeting could shape regional forestry cooperation for years to come, particularly as economies grapple with shared challenges of climate change, forest degradation, and biodiversity loss.