Chinese President Xi Jinping took the central role at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, to champion economic globalization and multilateralism.
His presence was highlighted by the notable absence of US President Donald Trump, who had left South Korea a day earlier after striking a temporary trade deal with Xi.
Xi explicitly positioned China as the defender of free trade systems, which observers view as threatened by the US "America first" policy and tariff hikes.2 He called for maintaining supply chain stability and expanding cooperation in green industries and clean energy.
Trump skipped the APEC summit a forum representing nearly 40% of the world's population fitting his preference for one-on-one meetings over large, multi-nation forums.
Before leaving, Trump described his meeting with Xi as a "roaring success," stating that China agreed to allow the export of rare earth elements and start buying US soybeans in exchange for slashing tariffs.
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