HONG KONG, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- As 2025 draws to a close, the Asia-Pacific region is positioned at the forefront of a global technological revolution, with artificial intelligence (AI) emerging not just as a transformative force, but as the defining catalyst for its economic growth, cross-border collaboration, and long-term regional resilience.

A PIONEER REGION IN AI APPLICATIONS

Employees in Asia-Pacific are adopting generative AI tools faster and more enthusiastically than their global peers, according to a Boston Consulting Group report.

With one-third of the world's population, the region is rapidly expanding its innovation footprint, standing at the center of AI transition. According to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, the technology juggernaut is expected to inject nearly 1 trillion U.S. dollars in economic gains over the next decade across Asia alone.

In November, leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) adopted a joint declaration, recognizing the potential of AI to fundamentally reshape economies worldwide by unlocking new frontiers for innovation, enhanced productivity, improved competitiveness, economic prosperity and resilience.

For the first time, APEC placed AI on its core agenda, adopting an AI initiative to accelerate deeper cooperation among Asia-Pacific economies.

As China, according to the UNDP, holds nearly 70 percent of global AI patents, the region is increasingly looking to China's technological capacity, policy experience and application-driven innovation to help translate AI potential into inclusive growth and shared benefits.

"China will be able to contribute to global growth by accelerating the development of next-generation industries such as renewable energy ecosystems, helping shape international technological standards in areas including AI governance and cybersecurity, and promoting stronger intra-Asian trade and investment flows through deeper and broader regional integration," said Christine Susanna Tjhin, director of strategic communication & research at Indonesia's Gentala Institute.

CHINA'S AI EFFORTS DRIVING REGIONAL TECH PROGRESS

At this year's APEC meetings, China pledged to work with all APEC members to enhance AI literacy and bridge the digital and AI divide in the Asia-Pacific region. Having initiated the establishment of a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, China hopes to provide the international community with public goods on AI through cooperation on development strategies, governance rules and technological standards.

This commitment is reflected in concrete cooperation on the ground. Recently, Singapore's national AI program, AI Singapore, released Qwen-SEA-LION-v4, a Southeast Asian multilingual large language model built on Alibaba's open-source Qwen foundation model to better address the linguistic and cultural demands of the region.

"Our collaboration with Alibaba on Qwen-SEA-LION-v4 is an important milestone in advancing AI inclusivity and to make it more representative of Southeast Asia," Alibaba Cloud quoted Leslie Teo, senior director of AI Products at AI Singapore, as saying.

From AI-powered smart sorting systems that enhance the grading and trade of Malaysian durians to cloud-based early warning systems co-developed with countries such as Pakistan, the Solomon Islands, and Laos to strengthen disaster preparedness and climate resilience, China's innovation-driven cooperation is expanding across the region.

In AI capacity building, China also shares its expertise with its neighbors to support regional connectivity and shared development. China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has organized multiple AI training programs for Vietnamese officials, and hosted an AI innovation cooperation workshop in November bringing together participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Mongolia.

WORKING TOGETHER FOR SHARED AI OPPORTUNITIES

"Countries that invest in skills, computing power and sound governance systems will benefit, others risk being left far behind," warned Philip Schellekens, chief economist for the UNDP for the Asia and Pacific region.

Echoing the concern, the APEC AI Initiative adopted at APEC meetings this year called for continued efforts to enhance security, accessibility, trustworthiness and reliability in realizing the benefits of AI for all with balanced and human-centered approaches to the workforce, education and capacity building policies.

Looking to APEC 2026 in China, more are anticipated to deepen collaboration on frontier technologies, expand digital public services, promote interoperability of standards, and ensure that technological benefits are shared equitably across the region.

"China has accumulated significant experience in technological innovation and long-term development," said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu recently at the APEC Informal Senior Officials' Meeting in Shenzhen.

"Shenzhen is widely recognized as a global innovation hub, and we are ready to share our experience with all partners and contribute to the region's innovative growth," he said.