On 6 November 2026, the 9th Hongqiao International Economic Forum parallel session “Economic Development and Integration in the Asia-Pacific: Shared Prosperity through Industrial Cooperation” was held at the Silk Road Hall of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). 

Co-hosted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, the session convened around 200 participants from across Asia and the Pacific and relevant international organizations to explore how industrial cooperation can help deliver shared prosperity for the region. 

In a video address, Fatou Haidara, Deputy to the Director General and Managing Director of UNIDO, highlighted the critical role of cooperation and partnerships in bridging gaps of technologies, skills and finance in global digital and green transitions while ensuring that industrial progress benefits all. 

UNIDO, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, is committed to supporting developing economies across the Asia-Pacific region to leverage their rich innovations and industrial experience for more inclusive and sustainable industrial development, she noted. 

Acknowledging the region’s diversity, Haidara affirmed that UNIDO stands ready to help unleash the potentials of Asia-Pacific economies and to respond to their unique development needs through tailor-made technical cooperation, policy advice and Programmes for Country Partnership. 

“Platforms like the Hongqiao Forum and the China International Import Expo are vital for linking industrial cooperation with trade and investment. Let us use this dialogue to identify practical areas for collaboration,” Haidara concluded. “Together, we can help ensure that industrial development creates lasting opportunities for people across Asia and the Pacific.”

The session also marked the launch of two milestone documents by UNIDO. Zhao Jie, Chief of UNIDO’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, presented a lively video capturing the key outcomes of UNIDO’s Country Programme for China (2021-2025), along with a publication documenting a decade-long endeavor (2016-2026) of advancing urban-industrial sustainability by UNIDO’s flagship Bridge for Cities initiative.

According to Zhao, UNIDO and China have collaborated extensively in the past five years to advance green industrial transformation, innovation-driven development, rural revitalization and South-South and triangular industrial cooperation. 

Bridge for Cities, a joint call to action launched in 2016 by UNIDO and China, is among the most symbolic outcomes of the growing UNIDO-China partnership and has turned into a truly global platform for dialogues and cooperation on sustainable urban-industrial development, Zhao said. 

Both sides are moving towards further enhanced collaboration through a Programme for Country Partnership that is currently under development for the years to come, he concluded. 

Two panel discussions followed, featuring high-level speakers representing governments, industries, academia and international organizations from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines and Thailand. 

The panelists showcased various industrial good practices implemented across the Asia-Pacific region, while reiterating the significance of South-South cooperation to achieving common development. The discussion fostered greater consensus for the development of an Asia-Pacific community that promotes shared prosperity and leaves no one behind.