China's Xi promises to protect free trade at APEC as Trump snubs major
summit
[October 31, 2025] By
HYUNG-JIN KIM, KIM TONG-HYUNG and HUIZHONG WU
GYEONGJU, South Korea (AP) — 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 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 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. On the sidelines of
the summit, Xi had bilateral meetings with new Japanese Prime Minister
Sanae Takaichi, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Thai Prime
Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday. Xi is to met South Korean
President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday for a meeting expected to discuss
North Korea’s nuclear program.
U.S. 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."
APEC faces challenges
Established in 1989 during a period of increased globalization, APEC
champions free and open trade and investment to accelerate regional
economic integration. But the APEC region now faces challenges like
strategic competitions between the U.S. and China, supply chain
vulnerabilities, aging populations and the impact of AI on jobs. The
U.S. strategy has been shifted to economic competitions with China
rather than cooperation, with Trump’s tariff hikes and “America first”
agenda shaking markets and threatening decades of globalization and
multinationalism.
[to top of second column] |
President Donald Trump left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, shake
hands before their U.S.-China summit talk at Gimhae International
Airport in Busan, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP
Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
 Leaders and other representatives
from 21 Asia-Pacific Rim economies are attending the APEC meeting to
discuss how to promote economic cooperation and tackle shared
challenges. Opening the summit as chair, Lee called for greater
cooperation and solidarity to overcome new challenges.
“It's obvious that we can't always stand on the same side, as our
national interests are at stake. But we can join together for the
ultimate goal of shared prosperity," Lee said. “I hope we will have
candid and constructive discussions on how we can achieve APEC’s
vision in the face of the new challenge of a rapidly changing
international economic environment."
Carney reiterated his government's plan to double its non-U.S.
exports in the next decade, as he said that “our world is undergoing
one of the most profound shifts since the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
Despite Trump’s optimism after a 100-minute meeting with Xi, there
continues to be the potential for major tensions between the
countries, with both seeking dominant places in manufacturing and
developing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
“It is certainly a contribution to bring the leaders of the two
largest economies together for a meeting where they agreed to
withdraw their most extreme tariff and export control threats. As a
result, worst-case outcomes for global trade were averted,” said
Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans
University in Seoul.
“However, APEC is meant to be more than a venue for a trade war
truce,” Easley said. “Greater multilateral efforts are needed to
address the region’s most pressing economic challenges, including
resisting costly and destabilizing protectionism, harmonizing
regulations for sustainable trade, and coordinating standards for
digital innovation.”
Host South Korea pushes for joint statement
South Korean officials said they’ve been communicating with other
countries to prod all 21 members to adopt a joint statement at the
end of the summit so as not to repeat the failure to issue one in
2018 in Papua New Guinea due to U.S.-China discord over trade.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said last week that issuing a
joint statement strongly endorsing free trade would be unlikely
because of differing positions among APEC members. He instead
anticipated a broader declaration emphasizing peace and prosperity
in the region.
As host nation, South Korea places a priority on discussing AI
cooperation and demographic challenges such as aging population and
low birth rates, under the theme “Building a Sustainable Tomorrow:
Connect, Innovate, Prosper.” South Korean officials say APEC members
will share exemplary cases of responses to AI and demographic
issues, explore common steps and formulate new growth strategies
during this week's summit.
___
Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
