The organizers of the logo design contests required the entries to feature the phrase "APEC Vietnam 2017", highlight Vietnamese culture, as well as to represent the five components of the 2017 summit which are dynamism, creativity, action, unity, and movement to the future.

The winning logo depicts stylised images of paddles and Lạc birds, a common motif on drums of the ancient Đông Sơn culture.

[9] During the 4th National Committee for APEC 2017 on April 13, 2016 in Hanoi, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Pham Binh Minh directed ministries and agencies to coordinate with other APEC member states especially Peru and Papua New Guinea, the hosts of the 2016 and 2018 summits respectively.

[4] This was the first APEC meeting for United States President Donald Trump, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, since their inaugurations on 20 January 2017, 10 May 2017, 1 July 2017 and 26 October 2017, respectively.

It was also the last APEC meeting for Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, and for the host, Vietnamese President Trần Đại Quang, following the 2017 Chilean general election, Kuczynski's resignation, the 2018 Malaysian general election, the 2018 Australian leadership spill, the 2018 Mexican general election and Quang's death, respectively.