After the virtual summit held on 20 November 2020, the APEC leaders issued the Kuala Lumpur Declaration.

[5] The official theme of the APEC Malaysia 2020 is "Optimising Human Potential Towards a Resilient Future of Shared Prosperity: Pivot.

It was chosen to reflect the Asia Pacific region's resilience, agility and inclusive economic growth through the concept of Shared Prosperity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 21 individual petals of the flower represents the spirit of unity of 21 APEC members in promoting regional economic integration, sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia Pacific region, the different tone of red/maroon of the logo represents the diversity of the APEC members; the 3 pistils of different shades of blue in the centre that resemble the waves of the Pacific Ocean represents unity of all APEC members under its core principles of consensus, voluntary and non-binding; while the 14-pointed star represents the 14 states in Malaysia and the inspirations of APEC members after 2020.

It was also the last APEC meeting for United States President Donald Trump and the host, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin, who both stepped down on 20 January 2021 and 16 August 2021 following the 2020 United States presidential election and the inauguration of Joe Biden; and the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis, leading to Muhyiddin's resignation.