APEC 2023: Achievements, Insights, and the Road Ahead

On November 17, the U.S. will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in San Francisco. In the lead-up to the main event, the U.S. has advanced an interconnected, innovative, and inclusive economic agenda in ministerial meetings and policy initiatives focused on supply chain resiliency, digital trade, climate action, women’s empowerment, and more.

Join the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) for a conversation that will unpack this year’s Summit outcomes. We'll also preview Peru's role as the 2024 host and evaluate the path forward for APEC in an evolving geopolitical and economic environment.

ASPI Vice President Wendy Cutler will be joined by Ambassador Matt Murray, U.S. Senior Official for APEC; Renato Reyes Tagle, Peru APEC Senior Official; Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat; and Laura Lane, EVP & Chief Corporate Affairs at UPS and member of the APEC Business Advisory Council.

SPEAKERS

Wendy Cutler (moderator) is Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the Managing Director of the Washington, D.C. office. In these roles, she focuses on building ASPI’s presence in the nation's capital and on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade, investment, and innovation, as well as women’s empowerment in Asia. She joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she also served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. During her USTR career, she worked on a range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations and initiatives, including the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S.-China negotiations, and the WTO Financial Services negotiations. She has published a series of ASPI papers on the Asian trade landscape and serves as a regular media commentator on trade and investment developments in Asia and the world.

Matthew D. Murray was appointed as the U.S. Senior Official for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in February 2022. In this role, he coordinates U.S. participation in APEC and also oversees the Office of Economic Policy in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to his current assignment, he led the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs as Senior Bureau Official from August 2021 to January 2022, and he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Trade Policy and Negotiations from September 2020 to August 2021. He has focused on U.S. economic engagement with the Asia-Pacific region throughout his State Department career, including as Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, and Special Assistant for East Asian and Pacific issues in the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment. He is a Senior Foreign Service Officer who also has served overseas in Beijing, Shanghai, Dar es Salaam and New Delhi, and in Washington, D.C. as Director of the 24/7 Watch in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

Renato Reyes is the Minister of the Peruvian Diplomatic Service, the Peru APEC Senior Official, and Director of APEC and Specialized Forums at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru. Previously, he was Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Peru to Chile. He graduated as a lawyer from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and obtained a master’s degree in diplomacy and international relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Peru in 1996. He also holds a master’s degree in European Commercial and Contractual Law from the University of Helsinki, Finland and a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from the Ricardo Palma University.

Laura Lane is Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer at UPS, overseeing Government Affairs, Communications, Sustainability and The UPS Foundation. Laura began her UPS career as president, Global Public Affairs. Previously, she was at Citigroup and Time Warner. Laura also served as a trade negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and as a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service. Laura is one of three U.S. government-appointed business representatives serving on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC). She is chairman of the Board of the German-American Business Council and also serves as a member of the board of the Atlantic Council and the Woodruff Arts Center. Laura holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University and a master’s degree from Georgetown University.

Rebecca Sta Maria is the executive director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat based in Singapore where she advises and provides support for APEC’s 21 diverse member economies. Dr Sta Maria spent years as a top-level civil servant and trade negotiator in Malaysia. As Secretary-General of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry she oversaw the formulation of Malaysia’s positions in major agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. And, as representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Dr. Sta Maria chaired the body that drafted ASEAN’s economic community blueprints for 2015 and 2025.