The APEC Economies China Studies Scholars Forum kicked off on Friday in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, providing academic and intellectual support for November's APEC meetings.

More than 100 experts and scholars from 16 APEC economies — China, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — gathered for in-depth discussions about China's development and the shared future of the Asia-Pacific.

Xing Feng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Ji'nan University in Guangzhou, said that the global economy remains sluggish as it carries intertwined geopolitical risks.

"As the highest-level, most extensive and influential regional economic cooperation mechanism in the Asia-Pacific, APEC boasts growing platform value and strategic significance," Xing said. "China has always been a staunch participant, builder and contributor to APEC and continues to advocate building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future."

During its three-day run, the forum will focus on two core priorities: jointly tackling global development challenges and sharing regional development opportunities, Xing said.

"The event not only brings rational academic perspectives and constructive practical solutions to regional cooperation but also fuels the high-quality development of regional and country-wide studies in China," he said.

The November APEC meetings in Shenzhen, Guangdong, will vividly demonstrate to the international community the achievements and experiences of China's path to modernization, he said.

"We sincerely hope this forum will serve as an efficient bridge for international academic exchanges."

The forum will pool academic wisdom from across the Asia-Pacific and feature in-depth discussions on key topics, including regional cooperation, win-win development and opportunity sharing.

It will contribute to building an important platform for academic exchanges between China and foreign countries and will have great significance in advancing regional and country studies in the Asia-Pacific, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation among APEC economies and boosting common prosperity and development of the region, organizers said.

Ji'nan University is the forum host, with Sun Yat-sen University and Guangdong University of Foreign Studies as co-organizers.

It presents the latest insights on Asia-Pacific cooperation to the international community, organizers said.