Gyeongju (TIP)- Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Asia-Pacific leaders on Friday that his country would help to defend global free trade at an annual economic regional forum snubbed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Xi took center stage at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that began Friday in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, 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.
Trump described his Thursday, Oct 30, 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 American 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, multi-nation forums that have been traditionally used to address huge global problems, but his blunt dismissal of APEC risks worsening America’s reputation at a forum that represents nearly 40% of the world’s population and more than half of global goods trade.
Xi defends multilateralism
“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 U.S. 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’s Xi’s first visit to South Korea in 11 years, and he’s scheduled to meet new Japanese Prime Minister new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday. South Korean officials said a Lee-Xi meeting would focus on dealing with North Korea’s nuclear program.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, who attended the summit on Trump’s behalf, said a U.S. move to rebalance its trade relationships would ensure that “each country operates on fair and reciprocal terms.” He added that the U.S. is “investing with its trading partners to build resilient production networks that reduce dependence on vulnerable sectors.”
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