Trump Rejects Global Free Trade; APEC Summit Begins with Xi

Asian and Pacific Rim leaders have pledged their support for trade and investment that “benefits all”, concluding a summit dominated by an agreement between the leaders of the United States and China to call a truce in their trade war.

The declaration by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders on Saturday came after US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, earlier agreed to lower the temperature in the heated US-China rivalry during a high-stakes summit held on the sidelines of the event.

Trump departed South Korea on Thursday after his talks with Xi, their first face-to-face meeting since 2019, leaving the Chinese leader to take centre stage at the two-day economic forum.

Xi, who has cast China as a defender of multilateralism and free trade, told the opening of the event on Friday that countries needed to work together as they faced an “increasingly complex and volatile” global environment.

In their declaration, the APEC leaders said “robust” trade and investment were vital to the region’s growth, and stressed their commitment to “deepening economic cooperation to navigate the evolving global environment”.

APEC, whose 21 members include the US, China, Japan and South Korea, will advance economic integration that is “market-driven” and enhance “experience sharing, capacity building, business engagement”, the declaration said.

The leaders also pledged regional cooperation on artificial intelligence and demographic challenges arising from falling birth rates.