APEC Thailand 2022

APEC 2022 Thailand
*การประชุมเอเปค พ.ศ. 2565 ประเทศไทย*
APEC 2022 Thailand; การประชุมเอเปค พ.ศ. 2565 ประเทศไทย
Host country	Thailand
Date	16–19 November 2022
Motto	Open. Connect. Balance.; (Thai: เปิดกว้าง สร้างสัมพันธ์ เชื่อมโยงกัน สู่สมดุล)
Venue(s)	Main venue Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok Other meetings 3 host locations Bangkok; Chiang Mai; Khon Kaen; Phuket; ;
Follows	2021
Precedes	2023
Website	www.apec2022.go.th

APEC 2022 Thailand was the year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Thailand that took place in 2022.^[1]^[2] Thailand previously hosted APEC meetings in 2003 and 1992.^[3]

The theme for the 2022 APEC meetings is "Open. Connect. Balance."^[4]

The summit returned into an in-person meeting since the 2018 summit after the 2019 summit in Chile was cancelled due to protests in the country and the last two editions were held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the assassination of Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan, on 8 July 2022, security concerns were raised for the event that was only four months away, which led to heightened security measures being taken by Thailand.^[5]

Logo

The APEC 2022 logo was selected from the 2021 National Youth Design Award competition, jointly organized by the Thai Foreign ministry and several Thai universities. Logo submissions were accepted from 1 May to 30 June 2021. 598 logos were submitted by people under 25 year old from many countries.^[6]

The logo selected from the contest was made by Chawanon Wongtrakuljong, an architecture student from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. It features a Chalom, an ancient traditional bamboo basket used to carry products and goods in Thailand. Chaloms are made with bamboo strips, tied and interlaced together to serve as a strong structure. Thus, it is used to symbolize strength, resilience, and cooperation between the nations in the region.^[1]^[6]^[7] Chalom also represents prosperous trading and commerce, since it is used to carry goods. Additionally, the logo also represents sustainability, because Chaloms are made from bamboo, an environmentally friendly material.

The 21 openings between the woven bamboo stands for the 21 APEC nations.^[6] The 3 colors used in the logo represents the motto of the meeting:^[7]

	Blue represents "Open"
	Pink represents "Connect"
	Green represents "Balance"

Events

Participants

This was the first APEC Meeting for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, Philippine President Bongbong Marcos, and Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee after their inaugurations on 23 May 2022, 11 March 2022, 30 June 2022, and 1 July 2022, respectively. It was also the last APEC meeting for Vietnamese President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the host Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who stepped down on 18 January 2023 (following the Pres. Phúc's resignation), 24 January 2023 (following the Prime Minister Ardern's resignation and appointment of Chris Hipkins as Prime Minister) and 22 August 2023 (following the 2023 Thai general election and election of Srettha Thavisin as Prime Minister), respectively.

Among those who chose not to attend were United States President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, which would have been their first in-person APEC meetings. Biden, who attended the wedding of his granddaughter instead, was represented by Vice President Kamala Harris in his place, Yoon himself was represented by South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in his place, while Castillo was also represented by Vice President Dina Boluarte in his place.^[8] Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who rarely undertakes foreign trips, also chose not to travel to Thailand and attend the meeting. López Obrador was represented by his Mexican ambassador to Thailand Bernardo Tello. Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob also skipped the meeting as its schedule conflicts with the 2022 Malaysian general election, where he sought re-election as leader of the United Malays National Organisation. Russian president Vladimir Putin also did not attend the summit due to the country's invasion of neighboring Ukraine; he was represented by Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov.

Additionally, recently inaugurated leaders Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who had to go entirely remote for the 2020 and 2021 summits, had their first in-person APEC meeting.

Participants at the 2022 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting
Member economies	Name as used in APEC	Position	Name
Australia	Australia	Prime Minister	Anthony Albanese
Brunei	Brunei Darussalam	Sultan	Hassanal Bolkiah
Canada	Canada	Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Chile	Chile	President	Gabriel Boric
China	People's Republic of China	President^[a]	Xi Jinping
Hong Kong	Hong Kong, China^[b]	Chief Executive	John Lee
Indonesia	Indonesia	President	Joko Widodo
Japan	Japan	Prime Minister	Fumio Kishida
South Korea*	Republic of Korea	Prime Minister	Han Duck-soo
Malaysia*	Malaysia	Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia	Mohd Zuki Ali
Mexico*	Mexico	Mexican Ambassador to Thailand	Bernardo Tello
New Zealand	New Zealand	Prime Minister	Jacinda Ardern
Papua New Guinea	Papua New Guinea	Prime Minister	James Marape
Peru*	Peru	Vice President	Dina Boluarte
Philippines	Philippines	President	Bongbong Marcos
Russia*	Russia	Deputy Prime Minister	Andrey Belousov^[c]
Singapore	Singapore	Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Taiwan	Chinese Taipei^[d]	Special Representative of President	Morris Chang
Thailand	Thailand	Prime Minister	Prayut Chan-o-cha (host)
United States*	United States	Vice President	Kamala Harris^[e]
Vietnam	Viet Nam	President	Nguyễn Xuân Phúc
(*) Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, United States President Joe Biden, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol did not attend the leaders' summit. Representatives of each country were sent to attend on their behalf.

Invited guests

Invited guests at the 2022 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting
Country	Name as used in APEC	Position	Name
France	France	President	Emmanuel Macron^[f]
Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	Crown Prince and Prime Minister	Mohammed bin Salman^[f]

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who was also the 2022 Chairperson of ASEAN, cancelled his guest attendance and returned to Cambodia before the start of the summit because he tested positive for COVID-19.^[12]

Protests

Multiple protests took place during APEC. Activists and civil society groups stated that the government of Thailand wanted to improve its legitimacy and to greenwash the image of the major polluters in the country. Activists say that they were monitored and intimidated in the weeks leading up to the summit.^[13]

On 18 November clashes broke out between several hundred protesters and riot police, which resulted in multiple protesters and journalists being injured and one protester losing sight in one eye.^[14]

Notes

^ The President of China is legally a ceremonial office, but the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (de facto leader in one-party communist state) has always held this office since 1993 except for the months of transition, and the current general secretary is Xi Jinping, who is also the Chinese President.
^ Hong Kong joined APEC in 1991 during British administration with the name "Hong Kong." In 1997, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and took the name "Hong Kong, China."
^ Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin chose not to attend the leaders summit. Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov attended on his behalf.
^ Due to the complexities of the relations between it and the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (ROC or "Taiwan") is not represented under its official name "Republic of China" or as "Taiwan". Instead, it participates in APEC under the name "Chinese Taipei". The President of the Republic of China does not attend the annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in person. Instead, it is generally represented by a ministerial-level official responsible for economic affairs or someone designated by the president. See List of Chinese Taipei Representatives to APEC.
^ U.S. President Joe Biden chose not to attend the leaders summit. Vice President Kamala Harris attended on his behalf.
^ ^a ^b The leaders of Cambodia and France,^[9]^[10] as well as a representative for Saudi Arabia,^[11] attended the meeting as invited guests of host Prayut Chan-o-cha.