随着服务业在亚太经济中的地位持续提升，以服务业开放合作为重点推进区域经济一体化，正成为亚太经合组织成员的重要共识。21世纪经济报道刊文指出，服务业已成为连接贸易投资、科技创新、数字化转型和全球价值链的重要纽带，开放合作不仅扩大市场准入，更在降低制度型交易成本、改善企业经营环境方面发挥关键作用。
APEC成立以来持续推进贸易投资自由化便利化和区域经济一体化，在关税减让、贸易便利化、投资环境改善、互联互通和监管合作等领域取得积极进展，为拓展服务业合作提供了制度基础。2015年APEC领导人非正式会议通过《APEC服务业合作框架》，首次从区域整体层面对服务业合作作出系统部署；2016年通过《服务业竞争力路线图》，使合作从原则性框架转化为具有明确目标和行动安排的十年合作议程；2021年通过《奥特奥罗亚行动计划》，将推进服务贸易自由化便利化纳入落实《2040年APEC布特拉加亚愿景》的集体行动。
经过近十年持续推进，APEC成员服务业规模和国际竞争力进一步提升。目前，服务业贡献了APEC地区接近三分之二的经济产出，在其中17个APEC经济体中，过去十年服务业就业占比持续超过一半。2024年，APEC经济体商业服务出口和进口分别增长11.7%和9.2%，占全球商业服务贸易比重接近40%。服务业成为塑造区域经济竞争力、创新能力和产业链韧性的关键力量。
亚太地区是全球自由贸易协定最为密集的地区之一。早期区域贸易安排更多聚焦货物贸易和关税减让，但近年来，服务贸易、投资、电子商务、数字贸易、国内规制等议题加快进入自由贸易协定和区域贸易安排，推动服务业开放从单纯扩大市场准入，逐步转向降低制度型交易成本、提升规则兼容性和改善企业实际经营环境。从RCEP等五个代表性协定看，相关协定均设有跨境服务贸易章节，覆盖17个APEC成员经济体，占成员总数的81%。
对于企业而言，服务业开放的关键不只在于市场准入空间扩大，还在于许可审批、资格认可、数据流动、知识产权保护和监管透明度等经营环境的改善，使开放承诺转化为企业开拓市场和参与价值链分工的能力。中国—东盟自由贸易区发展体现了这一趋势。2025年签署的《中国—东盟自贸区3.0版升级议定书》进一步拓展数字经济、绿色经济等新领域合作，涵盖跨境数据流动、电子认证、电子支付等服务领域，并延伸至金融科技、人工智能和数字贸易标准等议题。
APEC经济体在服务业国内规制和监管合作方面已取得积极进展，相关合作文件和行动安排持续推动规则协调与透明度提升。服务业开放合作已成为区域经贸规则演进的重要方向，不仅有助于降低跨境服务贸易的制度壁垒，也为亚太区域经济一体化注入新动能。
从趋势看，随着区域贸易安排覆盖范围扩大和规则深度提升，服务业的开放合作将进一步释放亚太经济增长潜力。未来，成员经济体需要在市场准入与规制协调之间实现更有效平衡，使服务业开放从承诺走向可落地的商业机会，为区域企业和消费者带来更广泛的发展红利。
As the services sector continues to grow in importance in the Asia-Pacific economy, advancing regional economic integration with a focus on services opening and cooperation is becoming an important consensus among APEC members. An article in 21st Century Business Herald pointed out that services have become a vital link connecting trade and investment, technological innovation, digital transformation, and global value chains. Opening and cooperation not only expand market access but also play a key role in reducing institutional transaction costs and improving the business environment.
Since its establishment, APEC has continuously promoted trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and regional economic integration, making positive progress in tariff reduction, trade facilitation, investment environment improvement, connectivity, and regulatory cooperation, providing an institutional foundation for expanding services cooperation. In 2015, the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting adopted the APEC Services Cooperation Framework, which for the first time made systematic arrangements for services cooperation at the regional level. In 2016, the Services Competitiveness Roadmap was adopted, transforming cooperation from a principled framework into a ten-year cooperation agenda with clear goals and action arrangements. In 2021, the Aotearoa Plan of Action incorporated the promotion of services trade liberalization and facilitation into the collective actions for implementing the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040.
After nearly a decade of sustained efforts, the scale and international competitiveness of the services sector in APEC members have further improved. Currently, services contribute nearly two-thirds of APEC's economic output, and in 17 APEC economies, the share of services employment has remained above half over the past decade. In 2024, APEC economies' commercial services exports and imports grew by 11.7% and 9.2% respectively, accounting for nearly 40% of global commercial services trade. Services have become a key force shaping regional economic competitiveness, innovation capacity, and industrial chain resilience.
The Asia-Pacific region is one of the most densely covered areas of free trade agreements in the world. Early regional trade arrangements focused more on goods trade and tariff reduction, but in recent years, issues such as services trade, investment, e-commerce, digital trade, and domestic regulation have been increasingly incorporated into free trade agreements and regional trade arrangements, shifting services opening from simply expanding market access to reducing institutional transaction costs, enhancing rule compatibility, and improving the actual business environment for enterprises. Looking at five representative agreements including RCEP, all contain cross-border services trade chapters, covering 17 APEC member economies, accounting for 81% of the total membership.
For enterprises, the key to services opening lies not only in expanding market access but also in improving the business environment in areas such as licensing and approval, qualification recognition, data flows, intellectual property protection, and regulatory transparency, so that opening commitments can be translated into enterprises' ability to explore markets and participate in value chain division of labor. The development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area reflects this trend. The Protocol to Further Upgrade the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area signed in 2025 further expands cooperation in new areas such as the digital economy and green economy, covering services areas such as cross-border data flows, electronic authentication, and electronic payments, and extends to topics such as fintech, artificial intelligence, and digital trade standards.
APEC economies have made positive progress in domestic regulation and regulatory cooperation in services, and relevant cooperation documents and action arrangements continue to promote rule coordination and transparency. Services opening and cooperation have become an important direction in the evolution of regional economic and trade rules, helping not only to reduce institutional barriers to cross-border services trade but also to inject new momentum into Asia-Pacific regional economic integration.
Looking ahead, as regional trade arrangements expand in coverage and deepen in rules, services opening and cooperation will further unleash the growth potential of the Asia-Pacific economy. In the future, member economies need to achieve a more effective balance between market access and regulatory coordination, so that services opening can move from commitments to tangible business opportunities, bringing broader development dividends to regional enterprises and consumers.