A themed installation for the APEC China Year is pictured at Huaqiangbei in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, on August 11, 2026. China will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen this November. Photo: VCG

Preparations are fully underway for the APEC CEO Summit 2026, which will be held in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong, from November 17 to 18, and the summit has attracted widespread attention from all parties, with US companies being particularly active in signing up, a spokesperson for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), China's top trade promotion body, said on Tuesday.

"Chinese and foreign companies are signing up enthusiastically. In particular, the enthusiasm of foreign companies to participate continues to rise. Among them, US companies are especially active in registering, making the US currently the economy with the largest number of registered companies," CCPIT spokesperson Wang Wenshuai said at a regular press conference.

According to the spokesperson, a number of well-known US companies and Fortune Global 500 firms, including Amazon, Walmart, Apple, Google, ExxonMobil and Microsoft, have already submitted applications to attend. The companies span sectors including semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), biopharmaceuticals, energy, finance, transportation and logistics, chemicals, aerospace, manufacturing, and consumer retail.

Wang said the broad participation of leading US companies reflects the importance US businesses attach to Asia-Pacific cooperation and also underscores the closely interconnected industrial and supply chains between China and the US.

The strong interest of US businesses in attending the summit is, at its core, a case of market forces voting with their feet, showing that China-US business cooperation remains solid in a wide range of areas, including technology, manufacturing, consumer goods, energy, and services, Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times, Harley Seyedin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China (AmCham South China), said US businesses continue to view the Chinese market as a strategic priority, as China's supply chains, pace of innovation and talent pool help boost US firms' global competitiveness.

According to Wang, the CCPIT has been actively encouraging business communities from both China and the US to deepen cooperation and seize new opportunities through events such as the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), a CCPIT business delegation to the US, and other high-level meetings in Beijing.

Chinese and American business groups have also co-hosted dialogue and business-matching events in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and zero-carbon smart manufacturing, with strong participation from leading companies on both sides.

Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Tuesday that amid stabilizing bilateral ties and China's continuous opening-up, US businesses have become even more confident in the Chinese market and are increasingly eager to tap into the new opportunities created by China's high-quality development.