The second meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) concluded in Hong Kong on the 25th of 2024. Business representatives at the meeting expressed serious concerns about the global shift towards protectionism and regional fragmentation, and called for open cooperation to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth. Julia TorreBlanca, Chairman of ABAC and Peruvian representative of the Council in 2024, emphasized at the outcome sharing meeting that continuing to work towards cooperation, open markets, and non discrimination is crucial for the prosperity of the Asia Pacific region. "APEC must adhere to deeper economic integration to avoid undermining inclusivity and sustainable growth.". She stated that to address these urgent issues, the Council has put forward a series of recommendations, including strengthening the World Trade Organization, revitalizing the Asia Pacific Free Trade Area strategy, promoting digital trade, enhancing global supply chain resilience, building a greener trade policy framework to address the climate crisis, and measures such as empowering women in trade. The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Li Jiachao, delivered a speech at the welcome dinner on the 23rd, stating that Hong Kong actively participates in APEC, firmly supports regional economic integration, and believes that all-round cooperation is crucial for overcoming various challenges faced by the world as a whole. He pointed out that "One Country, Two Systems" is the cornerstone of Hong Kong's success, providing long-term and extensive opportunities in various fields such as finance, innovation, and technology. The second ABAC 2024 conference will be held in Hong Kong from the 22nd to the 25th. The conference is themed "People, Commerce, Prosperity" and explores topics of concern to the business community, such as trade and investment facilitation, digital transformation, sustainable development, and inclusiveness. More than 200 council members and their staff from 21 member economies of APEC attended this meeting. ABAC was established in 1996 as a permanent business consulting organization, providing advice to APEC on topics of particular concern to the business community. The council holds four meetings annually. It is reported that the next meeting will be held in Tokyo, Japan in early August, with the aim of improving suggestions to be submitted during the APEC summit to be held in Peru in November this year. (Lai Xin She)