Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told Asia-Pacific leaders yesterday that his country would help defend global free trade at an annual economic regional forum snubbed by US President Donald Trump.
Xi took center stage at the APEC summit that began yesterday in Gyeongju, South Korea, as Trump left the country a day earlier after reaching deals with Xi meant to ease their escalating trade war.
This year’s two-day APEC summit has been heavily overshadowed by the Trump-Xi meeting that was arranged on the sidelines.
Photo: AFP
Trump described his meeting with Xi as a roaring success, saying he would cut tariffs on China, while Beijing had agreed to allow the export of rare earth elements and start buying US soybeans. Their deals were a relief to a world economy rattled by trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Trump’s decision to skip APEC fits with his well-known disdain for big, multination forums that have been traditionally used to address huge global problems, but his blunt dismissal of APEC risks worsening the US’ reputation at a forum that represents nearly 40 percent of the world’s population and more than half of global goods trade.
“The more turbulent the times, the more we must work together,” Xi said during APEC’s opening session. “The world is undergoing a period of rapid change, with the international situation becoming increasingly complex and volatile.”
Xi called for maintaining supply chain stability, in a riposte to US efforts to decouple its supply chains from China.
Xi also expressed hopes to work with other countries to expand cooperation in green industries and clean energy. Chinese exports of its solar panels, electric vehicles and other green tech have been criticized for creating oversupplies and undercutting the domestic industries of countries it exports to.
It is Xi’s first visit to South Korea in 11 years, and he was scheduled to meet new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung today.
South Korean officials said a Lee-Xi meeting would focus on dealing with North Korea’s nuclear program.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, who attended the summit on Trump’s behalf, said a US move to rebalance its trade relationships would ensure that “each country operates on fair and reciprocal terms.”
The US is “investing with its trading partners to build resilient production networks that reduce dependence on vulnerable sectors,” he added.
Leaders and other representatives from 21 Asia-Pacific Rim economies are attending the APEC meeting to discuss how to promote economic cooperation and tackle shared challenges.
Opening the summit as chair, Lee called for greater cooperation and solidarity to overcome new challenges.
“It’s obvious that we can’t always stand on the same side, as our national interests are at stake. But we can join together for the ultimate goal of shared prosperity,” Lee said. “I hope we will have candid and constructive discussions on how we can achieve APEC’s vision in the face of the new challenge of a rapidly changing international economic environment.”
South Korean officials said they have been communicating with other countries to prod all members to adopt a joint statement at the end of the summit so as not to repeat the failure to issue one in 2018 in Papua New Guinea due to US-China discord over trade.
South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun last week said that issuing a joint statement strongly endorsing free trade would be unlikely, because of differing positions among APEC members.
He instead anticipated a broader declaration emphasizing peace and prosperity in the region.
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