APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, was founded in 1989 with 12 founding members.
Australia proposed the forum, and the first APEC meeting took place in Canberra in November 1989. The founding economies were Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and the United States.
APEC is an economic forum rather than a treaty-based customs union or free-trade area. Its participants work by consensus and make commitments voluntarily. The forum focuses on trade and investment liberalization, business facilitation and economic cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region.
APEC calls its participants “economies” because its membership includes Hong Kong, China, and Chinese Taipei, alongside sovereign states. That wording is a common source of confusion. APEC is also distinct from ASEAN, which is a regional intergovernmental organization founded in 1967. APEC’s first meeting and original membership mark it as a separate institution with a broader Pacific focus.