During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit in South Korea on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to protect the multilateral trading system and enhance economic cooperation.
“Changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world,” Xi stated to the leaders gathered in Gyeongju.
“The rougher the seas, the more we must pull together,” he remarked, positioning China as a proponent of global free trade in the face of protectionist measures advocated by the United States.
Earlier this month, Xi had threatened to restrict rare earth exports, essential for high-tech products such as smartphones. However, at the summit, he urged countries to adhere to the principle of “extending, rather than breaking” supply chains.
Xi is scheduled to meet with his counterparts from Canada, Japan, and Thailand during the summit.
Despite Xi’s declarations of support for free trade, many Asian nations remain skeptical, particularly as China continues to assert its dominance in manufacturing and exports. Beijing has a history of employing export controls and other measures in trade disputes.
Xi’s address followed the departure of US President Donald Trump, the leader of APEC’s largest economy, who left South Korea prior to the main event. Nevertheless, Trump met with Xi on Thursday in Busan, where they reached a tentative agreement to ease tensions in their tariff dispute—Washington and Beijing consented to lower US tariffs in exchange for China relaxing restrictions on rare earth minerals.
US Senior Official to APEC Casey Mace informed reporters on Friday that Trump’s schedule “didn’t align perfectly” for him to “stay for all of the events.” After returning to Washington on Thursday, Trump hosted a Halloween party at the White House.
In Trump’s absence, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent represented the United States. On Friday, Bessent stated that US trade policy aims to ensure that “each country operates on fair and reciprocal terms.”
Trump’s meeting with Xi had overshadowed the lead-up to the summit, which annually convenes 21 members of Pacific Rim economies to foster cooperation and reduce trade and investment barriers.
Summit host, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, remarked that the Asia-Pacific region is at a pivotal moment in the rapidly evolving global economic landscape.
“As the free trade order undergoes dramatic changes, global economic uncertainty is deepening, and trade and investment are losing momentum,” Lee told the assembled leaders during the opening session on Friday.
“It is clear we cannot always be on the same side, but we must work together to achieve common prosperity,” he added, asserting that cooperation among APEC members is a “clear solution” to the current economic challenges.
The APEC region represents 50% of global trade and 61% of the world’s gross domestic product.
