The 2026 APEC Customs-Business Dialogue (ACBD 2026) convened on the sidelines of the second meeting of the APEC Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP2), with the participation of representatives from customs authorities and other government agencies of APEC economies, international organisations, academia, and the business community.

The opening session featured addresses by the Minister of the General Administration of Customs of China, the Minister of Food and Drug Safety of the Republic of Korea, deputy ministers responsible for agriculture from Thailand and Chile, and the Director-General of Chile's National Customs Service, along with representatives of the APEC Secretariat, ASEAN, the World Customs Organization (WCO), and major corporations from around the world.

Representing Viet Nam, Deputy Director General of the Viet Nam Customs Department Au Anh Tuan delivered remarks at the opening session. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep also attended the event as an important partner of China's customs authority.

The ACBD 2026 focused on promoting dialogue between customs authorities and the business community amid rapid changes in international trade, supply chains, cross-border e-commerce, and new business models driven by digital transformation and technology.

Speaking at the opening session, Deputy Director General Au Anh Tuan emphasised that changes in the trading environment were placing increasingly demanding requirements on customs authorities to both facilitate legitimate trade and ensure legal compliance, revenue collection, social protection, and greater resilience of supply chains.

According to Deputy Director General Au Anh Tuan, digitalisation, data analytics, and new technologies should be applied in ways that deliver tangible results, such as simplifying procedures, improving transparency and predictability, reducing businesses' compliance costs, and enhancing the effectiveness of customs management.

At a discussion session on promoting cooperation, inclusiveness, and sustainable growth in the Asia-Pacific Region, representatives of Viet Nam Customs presented the “Viet Nam Customs Management Model for Goods Imported and Exported through E-commerce Platforms”. The delegation exchanged experience in innovating management approaches for this rapidly growing form of trade.

Over the two-day programme, the ACBD 2026 focused on a range of issues, including the application of technology, artificial intelligence, and digitalisation to facilitate trade; cross-border e-commerce; food safety and supply-chain connectivity; customs-business cooperation; the authorised economic operator programme; and strengthening the resilience of regional supply chains.

On the sidelines of the programme, Deputy Director General Au Anh Tuan and the Viet Nam Customs delegation conducted a working session with a delegation from FedEx led by Raj Subramaniam, President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx.

Drawing on its experience in numerous markets, FedEx noted automation, artificial intelligence, and electronic data connectivity would play an increasingly important role in processing large volumes of express shipments. The group expressed its readiness to share its experience and technological solutions, and strengthen exchanges as Viet Nam Customs studies a new management system, ensuring connectivity with express delivery companies and e-commerce platforms.

Deputy Director General Au Anh Tuan affirmed that Viet Nam Customs would focus on learning from the experience of other economies and incorporating expectations and recommendations from businesses, while building on the outcomes of China's APEC Year 2026 in preparation for APEC 2027, in the spirit of cooperation and consensus and with a focus on delivering substantive results.