Issued by the APEC High-Level Policy Dialogue on
Agircultural Biotechnology
Dalian, People’s
Republic of China, 20 August 2026
As severe
weather, from extreme heat to floods and trade disruptions
strain global food supply, APEC economies are advancing
agricultural biotechnologies including genome editing to
help keep food on people’s tables.
Agricultural
biotechnologies have been around for decades, due to their
ability to strengthen crops and livestock against changing
weather and diseases. Now, they are increasingly being
shaped to meet the region’s changing dietary needs, helping
food systems keep pace with growing populations.
At
the High-Level
Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology held in
Dalian earlier this week, experts discussed new innovations
and strengthened safety principles for genome technologies,
tools that edit an organism’s genetic code to change
specific traits.
“Agricultural biotechnologies such
as transgenics, gene-editing and synthetic biology have
opened a new era of scientific and technological
transformation,” said Li Xin Hai, Chair of the
dialogue.
“With the development in artificial
intelligence these technologies provide new solutions for
food security, addressing climate change and promoting
sustainable agricultural development,” Li
added.
Across the dialogue, economies demonstrated how
precision breeding, where specific genes are edited rather
than crossbreeding over generations, is already producing
tangible results with adoption spreading across different
fruits, vegetables and meat. 75 percent of global
soybeans planted are already from genome modified
varieties as farmers gain higher yields from stronger and
more bacteria resistant crops.
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Experts reported on how
new genome technology can be used to breed fish such as
carps and salmon to have fewer fine bones. This encourages
easier consumption and allows for faster industrial
processing for 70 percent of freshwater aquacultural
products.
Research from China Agricultural University
also demonstrated how genome editing could improve drought
tolerance, increase productivity with less fertilizer input
and strengthen nutritional value.
The International
Rice Research Institute highlighted the example of rice
modified with lower glycaemic and higher protein levels,
allowing for slower sugar release into bloodstreams after
consumption, which is crucial for large populations across
Asia with diabetes.
Creating better public perception
of genome modified food was also a vital part of the
dialogue, as it remains a major hurdle as many consumers
still view such products as unsafe or
unhealthy.
Delegates stressed that closing this gap
starts with regulation that is science-based and assessed
case-by-case, adapting to new technologies as they emerge.
Assessments should cover both food safety and environmental
risk at every stage of development, backed by data-driven
risk checks and predictable approval timelines to encourage
farmers’ adoption while maintaining
biosafety.
Beyond regulation, the dialogue also
stressed the importance of education and communication to
boost consumer confidence in genome modified
food.
From accurate and engaging food labelling to
virtual reality experiences showing how modification take
place and educational public signage, economies emphasized
the need to respond to consumer concerns and misinformation
through evidence-based communication and proactive
outreach.
“APEC economies differ in development
levels, resource endowments and regulatory practices, so it
is only natural that we hold different priorities and
concerns in agricultural biotechnologies. Yet it is
precisely this diversity that renders the exchanges vital
and our cooperation necessary,” concluded
Li.
Building on more than two decades of dialogue and
practical cooperation on agricultural biotechnology, the
dialogue builds momentum toward the APEC Food Security
Ministerial Meeting in Hangzhou on 25 August, where
economies will continue working together on one shared
challenge and that is to feed a growing
region.
