APEC summit: China vowing to defend free trade

Taking center stage at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit in South Korea on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for protection of the multilateral trading system and deeper economic cooperation.

“Changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world,” Xi told leaders assembled in the South Korean city of Gyeongju.

“The rougher the seas, the more we must pull together,” Xi said, seeking to present China as a defender of global free trade amid protectionist policies pushed by the US.

Earlier this month, Xi threatened to choke off rare earth exports, which are a critical component of high-tech items like smartphones. In South Korea, however, Xi told the summit that countries should adhere to the principle of “extending, rather than breaking” supply chains.

The Chinese leader is due to meet with his Canadian, Japanese and Thai counterparts at the summit.

Many Asian countries remain skeptical of Xi’s stated support for free trade, as China flexes its dominance in manufacturing and exports. Beijing also has a track record of using export controls and other tools in trade disputes.

Trump leaves APEC summit early

Xi’s speech comes a day after the leader of APEC’s largest economy, US President Donald Trump, left South Korea before the main event. However, Trump met Xi on Thursday in Busan and managed to map out a truce in the tariff row  — Washington and Beijing agreed on smaller US tariffs in exchange for China easing restrictions on rare earth minerals.

US Senior Official to APEC Casey Mace told reporters on Friday that Donald Trump’s schedule “didn’t align perfectly” to allow the president to “stay for all of the events.” After Trump’s return to Washington on Thursday, he hosted the White House Halloween party.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stood in for the absent Trump. On Friday, Bessent said the US trade policy aims to ensure that “each country operates on fair and reciprocal terms.”

Trump’s meeting with Xi had overshadowed the run up to the summit, which brings together 21 members of Pacific Rim economies every year to encourage cooperation and reduce trade and investment barriers.

Summit host, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, said the Asia-Pacific region was at a critical point in the rapidly changing global economic order.

“As the free trade order undergoes dramatic changes, global economic uncertainty is deepening and trade and investment are losing momentum,” Lee told the gathered leaders at 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,” Lee said. He added that cooperation among APEC members is a “clear solution” to the current economic challenges.

The APEC region accounts for 50% of global trade and 61% of the world’s gross domestic product.