Asia-Pacific trade bloc calls for shared benefits
This year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, hosted by South Korea, developed in the shadow of geopolitical tensions suppressing global trade and aggressive economic strategies ranging from US tariffs to China’s export controls.
Before the meeting, US President Donald Trump announced that trade agreements would be made with many countries, including China and South Korea. However, he left before the summit started.
But analysts said Washington’s views remained on display in the declaration and, unlike last year’s document, it did not mention multilateralism or the World Trade Organization.
With Trump’s swift departure ahead of the summit, China has sought to position itself as a steady advocate of free and open trade, a role the United States has dominated for decades. President Xi Jinping announced that China will host APEC in Shenzhen in 2026.
Xi’s 3-day visit
Following the state dinner and summit hosted by President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday, Chinese leader Xi completed his visit to South Korea, which started on Thursday after 11 years. Lee, a US ally, has vowed to balance Seoul’s ties with Beijing.
Lee said it was difficult to say that relations between South Korea and China had fully normalized and he hoped for a significant improvement.
“We must go beyond simple restoration to find a way of cooperation that will benefit each other,” he told reporters ahead of his planned meeting with Xi. he said.
Earlier this week, Lee also hosted Trump for a rushed state visit and announced a surprise trade deal aimed at easing U.S. tariffs in exchange for billions of dollars of South Korean investment in the United States.
According to the Seoul presidential office, Lee requested China’s help in dealing with North Korea.
North Korea, China’s military and economic ally, issued a statement on Saturday calling any effort to eliminate its nuclear arsenal an unrealizable “pipe dream” after the South said Lee would step up denuclearization of the Korean peninsula with Xi.
Trump met with Xi ahead of the APEC summit on Thursday and signed a deal that includes lowering U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing’s crackdown on the illegal fentanyl trade, resuming purchases of U.S. soybeans and a continued flow of rare earth exports.
Taiwan buys chips
Meanwhile, Lin Hsin-i, Taiwan’s representative at the APEC summit and former economy minister, said he and US treasury secretary Scott Bessent discussed supply chains and semiconductors at the meeting on the sidelines of the summit.
The island’s U.S. exports, except for semiconductors, are currently subject to a 20 percent tariff, but Taipei is in talks to reduce that figure.
Japan not renegotiating the agreement
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that there is no plan to renegotiate the $550 billion investment package agreement signed with the USA.
“I believe that even if the Prime Minister changes, the promises made between governments should not be changed,” he told reporters.
