Finance
World leaders convened at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting on Friday to discuss measures to strengthen resilience and drive growth in the face of global trade uncertainty, with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung asking for “cooperation and solidarity” among APEC member nations.
The two-day gathering brought together the leaders of 21 APEC member economies, guest nations, and representatives from international organisations, with discussions centered on sustaining free trade and strengthening regional economic integration.
During the first session, which will be run under the theme of “Towards a More Connected Resilient Region and Beyond,” Lee emphasised the importance of the APEC gathering amid a shifting free trade order and rising global economic uncertainty.
“Cooperation and solidarity is the surest path for a better future,” Lee said in his opening address.
“We all stand at a critical turning point as the international order undergoes rapid transformation.”
He also noted that the technological revolution led by artificial intelligence presents both unprecedented crises and opportunities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke during the meeting, presenting five ideas for “building an inclusive open Asia-Pacific economy for all,” according to the Chinese foreign ministry’s website.
He also advocated for collaborative efforts to protect the multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its foundation, to create an open economic environment in the area, and to guarantee the stability and seamless flow of industrial and supply chains.
Friday’s meeting was place in the absence of US President Donald Trump, who had left the previous day after visiting a business event and speaking with Lee and Xi.
The meeting brought together the leaders of the 21 member economies, including Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, as well as delegates from many international organisations.
Before the session, Lee welcomed his visiting colleagues and participants, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he greeted and briefly spoke with as they entered the summit venue. This is the first time the two leaders have met since Lee took office in June.
The presidential office stated that the leaders intend to explore measures to make the Asia-Pacific region “more open, dynamic, and resilient” at the session.
“President Lee will take on the role of a bridge for leaders to help build consensus on the need for closer cooperation. We aim to restore the region’s commitment to collaboration and explore concrete measures for APEC to remain the region’s key economic forum and a relevant platform for the future, it said.
South Korea, which is hosting this year’s APEC meetings, aims to deliver an outcome accepted by all APEC participants in its envisioned “Gyeongju Declaration” while also highlighting its own projects, such as AI and demographic shifts, according to Yonhap news agency.
Over the course of two sessions, the leaders will discuss ideas made by APEC nations’ senior foreign and trade officials on how to make the Asia-Pacific region more wealthy through activities such as improving supply chain cooperation and digital transition.
The question is whether and to what extent the leaders will reach an agreement on setting the course for international trade, given their diverse perspectives on the global free trade order backed by multilateralism and the WTO system.
In recent years, most of the APEC economies have endorsed free trade based on the WTO system and reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism.
Between 2021 and 2024, all APEC summit declarations included the phrase: a rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO “at its core,” which first appeared in the 2021 declaration, after Trump’s first term ended.
A leaders’ declaration can only be adopted by consensus, with support from every single APEC member.
Following the final APEC ministerial meeting Thursday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said the forum is “very close” to adopting a joint declaration, with last-minute negotiations under way on the ministerial statement, which will be forwarded to the leaders’ session.
“We expect the ministerial document to be adopted by Saturday, when we will have the leaders’ retreat,” Cho said.
Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, who co-led the ministers’ session with Cho, said a broad agreement has been reached in the supply chains, digital and environment sectors, calling them “the core of today’s trade agenda and the pillar of the future economy.”
“We will continue to uphold the multilateral regime based on the WTO, but as the WTO system is at stake, we are also in support of plurilateral cooperation,” he said.
Plurilateralism is the concept of international collaboration among a smaller set of countries, as opposed to multilateralism.
Source: IANS
