Since its formation in 1989, APEC has held annual meetings with representatives from all member economies. The first four annual meetings were attended by ministerial-level officials. Beginning in 1993, the annual meetings are named APEC Economic Leaders' Meetings and are attended by the
heads of government from all member economies except Taiwan, which is represented by a ministerial-level official. At the
2001 Leaders' Meeting in Shanghai, APEC leaders pushed for a new round of trade negotiations and support for a program of trade capacity-building assistance, leading to the launch of the Doha Development Agenda a few weeks later. The meeting also endorsed the Shanghai Accord proposed by the United States, emphasising the implementation of open markets, structural reform, and
capacity building. As part of the accord, the meeting committed to develop and implement APEC transparency standards, reduce trade
transaction costs in the Asia-Pacific region by five percent over five years, and pursue
trade liberalisation policies relating to information technology goods and services. In 2003,
Jemaah Islamiah leader
Riduan Isamuddin had planned to attack the APEC Leaders Meeting to be held in
Bangkok in October. He was captured in the city of
Ayutthaya, Thailand by Thai police on 11 August 2003, before he could finish planning the attack. Chile became the first South American nation to host the Leaders' Meeting in 2004. The agenda of that year was focused on terrorism and commerce,
small and medium enterprise development, and contemplation of free agreements and regional trade agreements. The 2005 Leaders' Meeting was held in
Busan, South Korea. The meeting focused on the
Doha round of
World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, leading up to the
WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005 held in Hong Kong in December. Weeks earlier, trade negotiations in Paris were held between several WTO members, including the United States and the
European Union, centred on reducing agricultural
trade barriers. APEC leaders at the summit urged the European Union to agree to reduce
farm subsidies. In a continuation of the climate information sharing initiative established by the APEC Climate Network working group, it was decided by the leaders to install the
APEC Climate Center in Busan. Peaceful protests against APEC were staged in Busan, but the meeting schedule was not affected. At the Leaders' Meeting held on 19 November 2006 in
Hanoi, APEC leaders called for a new start to global free-trade negotiations while condemning terrorism and other threats to security. APEC also criticised North Korea for conducting a
nuclear test and a
missile test launch that year, urging the country to take "concrete and effective" steps toward
nuclear disarmament. Concerns about
nuclear proliferation in the region was discussed in addition to economic topics. The United States and Russia signed an agreement as part of Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization. The
APEC Australia 2007 Leaders' Meeting was held in Sydney from 2–9 September 2007. The political leaders agreed to an "aspirational goal" of a 25% reduction of energy intensity correlative with economic development. Extreme security measures including airborne sharpshooters and extensive steel-and-concrete barricades were deployed against anticipated protesters and potential terrorists. However, protest activities were peaceful and the security envelope was penetrated with ease by a
spoof diplomatic motorcade manned by members of the Australian television program
The Chaser, one of whom was dressed to resemble the
Al-Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden. The
APEC Chile 2019, originally to be held 16–17 November 2019 in Chile, was cancelled due to
ongoing protests by sections of its population over inequality, the cost of living and police repression. The 2023
APEC meeting was notable for a lack of consensuses of group members on their stance over the
Russia–Ukraine and
Gaza conflicts as well as consensus for
WTO reforms. The meeting between
Biden and
Xi was also seen as significant in terms of reducing tensions between the US and China.
APEC leaders' group photo At the end of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, the leaders gather for the official APEC Leaders' Family Photo. A tradition has the leaders dressing to reflect the culture of the host member. The tradition dates to the first such meeting in 1993 when then-U.S. President
Bill Clinton insisted on informal attire and gave the leaders leather
bomber jackets. At the 2010 meeting, Japan had the leaders dress in smart casual rather than the traditional
kimono. Similarly, when Honolulu was selected in 2009 as the site for the 2011 APEC meeting, U.S. President
Barack Obama joked that he looked forward to seeing the leaders dressed in "flowered shirts and grass skirts". After viewing previous photos, and concerned that having the leaders dress in
aloha shirts might give the wrong impression during a period of economic austerity, Obama instead decided it might be time to end the tradition. Leaders were given a specially designed aloha shirt as a gift but were not expected to wear it for the photo. Leaders in Bali, Indonesia at the 2013 conference wore a batik outfit; in China 2014 Tang suit jackets; in the Philippines 2015
barong tagalogs; in Peru 2016
vicuña wool shawls; in 2017 Vietnamese silk shirts. File:Photograph of President William Jefferson Clinton and Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on the Tyee Ferry on Blake Island in Seattle, Washington - NARA - 5720209.jpg|APEC United States 1993 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Brunei 15-16 November-9.jpg|APEC Brunei 2000 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in China 19-21 October 2001-14.jpg|
APEC China 2001 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Thailand 19-21 October 2003-16.jpg|
APEC Thailand 2003 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Chile 20-21 November 2004-3.jpg|
APEC Chile 2004 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in South Korea 18-19 November 2005-8.jpg|
APEC South Korea 2005 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Vietnam 18-19 November 2006-11.jpg|
APEC Vietnam 2006 File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Australia 7-9 September 2007-3.jpg|
APEC Australia 2007 File:Dmitry Medvedev at APEC Summit in Peru 22-23 November 2008-2.jpg|
APEC Peru 2008 File:Singapore APEC 2009 leaders.jpg|
APEC Singapore 2009 File:13.11.2010 Gira a Asia.jpg|
APEC Japan 2010 File:APEC Hawaii.jpg|
APEC United States 2011 File:APEC Russia 2012.jpg|
APEC Russia 2012 File:Apec 2013.jpg|
APEC Indonesia 2013 File:APEC Summit China 2014.jpg|
APEC China 2014 File:APEC Philippines 2015 delegates.jpg|
APEC Philippines 2015 File:Foto Oficial APEC 2016 (LIMA PERU).jpg|
APEC Peru 2016 File:APEC Vietnam 2017 Leaders Meeting.jpg|
APEC Vietnam 2017 File:APEC Leaders Photo - Papua New Guinea 2018.jpg|
APEC Papua New Guinea 2018 File:President Joe Biden participates in a family photo with APEC leaders and guest leaders on November 16, 2023 in San Francisco, California.jpg|
APEC United States 2023 File:APEC Peru 2024 family photo.jpg|
APEC Peru 2024 File:20251101 Sanae Takaichi at the APEC South Korea 2025 (1).jpg|
APEC South Korea 2025 APEC Summits •
APEC Australia 1989 •
APEC Singapore 1990 •
APEC South Korea 1991 •
APEC Thailand 1992 •
APEC United States 1993 •
APEC Indonesia 1994 •
APEC Japan 1995 •
APEC Philippines 1996 •
APEC Canada 1997 •
APEC Malaysia 1998 •
APEC New Zealand 1999 •
APEC Brunei 2000 •
APEC China 2001 •
APEC Mexico 2002 •
APEC Thailand 2003 •
APEC Chile 2004 •
APEC South Korea 2005 •
APEC Vietnam 2006 •
APEC Australia 2007 •
APEC Peru 2008 •
APEC Singapore 2009 •
APEC Japan 2010 •
APEC United States 2011 •
APEC Russia 2012 •
APEC Indonesia 2013 •
APEC China 2014 •
APEC Philippines 2015 •
APEC Peru 2016 •
APEC Vietnam 2017 •
APEC Papua New Guinea 2018 •
APEC Chile 2019 •
APEC Malaysia 2020 •
APEC New Zealand 2021 •
APEC Thailand 2022 •
APEC United States 2023 •
APEC Peru 2024 •
APEC South Korea 2025 •
APEC China 2026 •
APEC Vietnam 2027 •
APEC Japan 2028 •
APEC Canada 2029 •
APEC Singapore 2030 •
APEC Australia 2031 ==Criticism==