The 'Chengdu Time' for the 2026 APEC 'China Year' has officially begun.

Traditional tea brews in covered bowls meet the future of computing networks. When the highest-level digital dialogue in the Asia-Pacific was held in Chengdu, Sichuan, it sparked a fascinating collision of tradition and innovation, comfort and ambition.

In July, over 500 delegates from 21 APEC economies gathered at the Century City International Convention Center. Outside the venue, a crowd gathered around a seemingly ordinary pair of glasses. With a touch to the temple, these AR glasses, developed by a local Chengdu company, provide real-time subtitle translation for 261 languages, instantly breaking down language barriers for Asia-Pacific delegates. Nearby, a round delivery robot navigated through the crowd with agility, autonomously operating elevators and passing through gates, drawing gasps of amazement. Russian delegate Maria Kolesnikova engaged in a lively Q&A session with the 'Chengdu-made' humanoid robot, Expedition A3, frequently exclaiming, 'This is so much fun!' The scene became a vivid highlight of the Digital Week exhibition area.

This was a common scene at the 2026 APEC Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Meeting and Digital Week, and a powerful example of how Chengdu, a city known for its leisurely pace, showcases its innovative vitality to the world.

An APEC Exhibition Area Beyond the Conference Hall

A 'Chengdu Declaration' Drafts a Blueprint for Asia-Pacific Digital Cooperation

On July 23, the meeting's most significant outcome, the '2026 APEC Ministerial Declaration on Digital and AI (Chengdu Declaration),' was formally approved.

If Asia-Pacific digital cooperation is a grand chess game, this declaration provides a clear roadmap. Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng summarized the results into five key highlights, boiling down to three core tasks: how to best utilize technology, how to manage risks, and how to ensure more people can benefit from the digital revolution.

Twenty-four years ago, China hosted the APEC Telecommunications Ministerial Meeting in Shanghai. At that time, Asia-Pacific digital cooperation focused on 'laying fiber and building networks,' addressing the question of 'availability.' Today, in Chengdu, the conversation has shifted to 'digital empowerment,' focusing on 'quality'—how AI can improve factory efficiency, how the elderly can easily use smartphones, and how children in remote areas can access quality education.

The shift from 'connection' to 'empowerment' reflects the upgrading of digital cooperation across the entire Asia-Pacific region. The Chengdu Declaration places a special emphasis on 'digital inclusion and digital skills,' ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital revolution. The elderly, women, and people with disabilities must all find their place in this wave of digital intelligence.

This declaration is not just a consensus on paper; it is a practical gift for the APEC Leaders' Meeting in November, sending a clear signal that Asia-Pacific economies will work together to make the digital pie bigger and distribute it more equitably.

Why Sichuan and Chengdu?

One might ask: Why was this high-level APEC digital conference held in Sichuan and Chengdu?

The answer lies in the 'Chengdu-made' black technology outside the conference hall and the city's solid industrial foundation.

Chengdu possesses a digital-age 'Dujiangyan'—its computing power base. Dujiangyan has irrigated the Chengdu Plain for 2,000 years. Today, Chengdu has built a 'Digital Dujiangyan'—a computing infrastructure. As a key node in the national 'East Data, West Computing' project, Chengdu has built 14 large and ultra-large computing facilities, with a total computing power of approximately 30,000 P. This means it can perform 300,000 trillion operations per second. With 26 large AI models passing national registration and being a national first-batch data annotation base, this is like the 'water, electricity, and gas' of the digital age. With sufficient computing power, innovative companies can thrive.

Looking at the entire province of Sichuan, the total computing power has reached 16.8 EFLOPS, and it is expected to double to 40 EFLOPS in the next 3 to 5 years. This 'digital current' is continuously powering industrial upgrades. Chengdu has a thriving industrial ecosystem, a 'digital rainforest.' Chengdu's AI industry is not a few isolated trees but a vibrant ecosystem. Over 1,200 AI-related companies are rooted here, with the core industry scale surpassing 150 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year growth of nearly 40%. Its comprehensive strength ranks among the top tier in the country, earning it the title of a national 'Leading City in AI.'

This rainforest includes both 'old trees' like Intel, which has been in Chengdu for 23 years and operates one of Intel's largest chip packaging and testing bases globally, and 'new seedlings' like Mozi Vision and Yufan Innovation. The former's AR smart glasses are sold in multiple countries, while the latter's delivery robots have entered high-end scenarios like Singapore's Changi Airport. The province's overall strength is even more impressive: over 1,900 AI companies, with revenue exceeding 190 billion yuan in 2025 and over 100 billion yuan in the first half of this year alone. Products like the 'robot wolf' featured in the National Day military parade and the world's best-selling welding robot are all proudly 'Made in Sichuan.'

What is more remarkable is Chengdu's 'scenario-based thinking.' This megacity of 21 million people is a massive AI testing ground. On Jiaoda Avenue, the western region's first robot trading center and robot street are bustling. In the Shufu Youchao International Apartment, delivery robots have already completed 30,000 orders. On the Science and Innovation Ecological Island, unmanned boats and drones are constantly refining their technology in real-world scenarios. Sixteen of these scenarios were selected as the first batch of typical AI application cases by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, ranking in the top three among Chinese cities. Like the local saying 'Bashi' (comfortable/awesome), AI in Chengdu is not an abstract concept; it's a tangible part of daily life, helping with parking, delivering food, and providing health check-ups, with the most hardcore technology hidden in the city's vibrant atmosphere.

From Inland Hinterland to Open Frontier: A Story Beyond Chengdu

The APEC conference in Chengdu is not just about selecting a venue; it's a strategic move in China's opening-up policy. Looking back at the APEC 'China Year' city map, it has moved from Guangzhou, Shanghai, Dalian, Suzhou, and Macau to Chengdu. This trajectory is a vivid example of China's opening-up from the coast to the interior, from the east to the west. For China, hosting the APEC Digital and AI Ministerial Meeting in Chengdu has a deeper strategic significance. In the past, APEC events were mostly concentrated in eastern coastal cities. Today, Chengdu is taking the baton, showcasing not just a city's innovative vitality but also the overall picture of coordinated development between China's east, central, and western regions and high-level inland opening-up.

The digital economy is the perfect track for inland cities to 'overtake on the curve.' Being landlocked, without a coast, does not prevent a city from standing at the forefront of global digital cooperation. Chengdu has proven this, setting a path for many central and western cities. For Sichuan, this is a 'testing ground' for innovative development. As a major economic province in the west, Sichuan has designated AI as its 'Number One Innovation Project,' with the goal of becoming the country's 'Fourth Pole' of AI innovation by 2027. The core value added of the digital economy reached 155.82 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for 9.7% of GDP. The value added of integrated circuit manufacturing grew by 78.3%, and the output of industrial automatic control instruments increased by 47.4%. These figures demonstrate Sichuan's accelerated transformation from a 'manufacturing province' to a 'smart manufacturing powerhouse.'

APEC acts as a mirror, reflecting the strength of Sichuan's digital economy and the vibrant innovation of this land. For Chengdu, APEC brings not just visibility but a tangible leap in its openness. During the Digital Week, the Thai Prime Minister visited Chengdu, and the Thai Consulate General's Investment Office officially opened in Chengdu. In April, Indonesia officially announced the establishment of a consulate general in Chengdu. Chengdu's international 'friendship circle' is growing. Today, Chengdu has 257 international sister and friendly cooperative cities. It hosts 24 consulates, ranking first among central and western cities. It has 85 international regular direct flights, creating a '10-hour intercontinental, 5-hour Asian' flight circle. In 2025, the passenger throughput of its two airports surpassed 90 million, placing it in the 'Global Top 20 Aviation Metropolises.'

From an inland hinterland to an open frontier, Chengdu is using digital technology as a bridge to tell the story of the 'Land of Abundance' to the Asia-Pacific and the world.

The 'Chengdu Answer' in the Digital Wave

The main ministerial meeting has concluded, but the enthusiasm for APEC digital cooperation in Chengdu remains high. On July 25, a high-level roundtable on 'Data for Growth' began, with delegates from various economies delving into data value extraction and cross-border digital governance rules. In the afternoon, a thematic seminar on 'Data and AI Empowering Industries' was held, where government and business discussed practical technology implementation paths. Until July 29, foreign delegations will visit science parks and application scenarios, turning the consensus of the Chengdu Declaration into practical, shareable cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. While the high-level discussions have concluded, a deep-rooted, market-oriented collaboration is just beginning to unfold in the land of Tianfu.

Over 2,000 years ago, Dujiangyan's water management irrigated the western Sichuan plain, creating the 'Land of Abundance.' Today, computing networks and artificial intelligence are building a new 'digital water management system,' opening a new channel for high-level opening-up in the western interior. As APEC's Asia-Pacific vision meets Sichuan's innovation confidence, we see a central western city striving to break through, a province's determined steps to lead through science and technology, and the grand national strategy of coordinating eastern and western development and expanding institutional openness. In the surging wave of digital intelligence, Chengdu has delivered a substantial answer: connecting with the Asia-Pacific through openness, driving development through innovation, making digital technology accessible to more people, and spreading its benefits more widely. This is the Chengdu APEC answer from the 'Land of Abundance.'