In 1981, during the first Asia Pacific Congress on Quality Control (APC- QC) hosted by the Philippine Society for Quality Control (PSQC) in Manila, Philippines, an Asia Pacific Quality Control Organization (APQCO) has been conceived. This has been pursued through the efforts of an Ad Hoc Committee formed as part of the APC-QC'81 Resolution (Ad Hoc Committee,1981). The first follow- through activity has been the ratification of APQCO Constitution in Mexico in 1983 when the Instituto Mexicano de Control de Calidad (IMECCA) hosted the second APC-QC'83. Finally, on 25 October 1985 the APQCO Charter has been signed by the 15 founding member countries in Beijing, China. This marked the birth of the Asia Pacific Quality Control Organization (APQCO) which implemented the First APQCO Conference'85.

First APQCO Conference has been held in China has been the first International Conference ever to be held in China. Hence it is a historic event for both China and the world. At the Beijing Conference where the APQO charter was signed, both Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa and Dr. H. James Harrington were requested to serve as Honorary Presidents representing Asia and the Pacific, respectively. At that time an APQO President could not yet be elected. The second triennial APQCO Conference had been held in Korea by KSA where Dr. Jong Wan Choi has been elected as the First President of APQCO. In 1994, it has been decided that the "C" for "Control" in APQCO to be dropped. Also, has decided that succeeding APQCO Conferences be made biennial. The International Asia Pacific Quality Award (IAPQA) of the APQO has been launched from 2000. In the same year, APQO International Individual Awards has been introduced. Since 2002 APQO Conference has been made an annual event. Name of the International Asia Pacific Quality Award (IAPQA) has been changed to Global Performance Excellence Award (GPEA) in 2010.