The UCLA Asia Pacific Center promotes greater knowledge and understanding of Asia and the Pacific region on campus and in the community through innovative research, teaching, public programs, and local and international collaborations. It focuses on the inter-Asian and transpacific cultural and social connections from historical, contemporary, and comparative perspectives. It encourages interdisciplinary work on cross-border and supranational issues such as language and culture, population and environment, technology, politics, socioeconomic development, and sustainability in the ongoing processes of globalization.

The center is currently home to the UCLA Taiwan Studies Program and the UCLA Program on Central Asia (PoCA), and seeks to establish a Hong Kong studies program. It is also an academic partner of the Global Chinese Philanthropy Initiative and was designated an East Asian National Resource Center (2023-2026) by the US Department of Education.