Asia-Pacific trade bloc calls for shared benefits

GYEONGJU(SOUTH KOREA): Facing deepening fractures in the world trade order, Asia-Pacific leaders adopted a joint declaration that emphasised the need for resilience and shared benefits in trade at the end of the annual APEC summit on Saturday.

This year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, hosted by South Korea, unfolded under the shadow of geopolitical tensions and aggressive economic strategies-ranging from US tariffs to China's export controls-that have pressured global trade.

Ahead of the gathering, US President Donald Trump announced trade deals with a number of countries, including China and South Korea. But he left before the summit kicked off.


Washington's views, however, remained on display in the declaration, analysts said, which, unlike last year's document, did not mention multilateralism or the World Trade Organization.

With Trump's swift exit before the summit, China sought to position itself as a steady advocate of free and open trade, a role the US had dominated for decades. China will host APEC in Shenzhen in 2026, President Xi Jinping announced.

Xi's 3-day visit
Following a state dinner and the summit hosted President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday, China's Xi wrapped up his visit to South Korea-his visit in 11 years-which started Thursday. A US ally, Lee has pledged to balance Seoul's ties with Beijing.

Lee said it was difficult to say that relations between South Korea and China had ever been completely normalised, and he hoped for a substantial improvement.

"We must go beyond simple restoration to find a path of cooperation that is beneficial to each other," he told reporters ahead of his planned meeting with Xi.

Earlier this week, Lee also hosted Trump for a rushed state visit, announcing a surprise trade deal aimed at easing US tariffs in return for billions of dollars in South Korean investment in the US.

Lee asked Xi for China's help in engaging North Korea, according to Seoul's presidential office.

After the South said Lee would raise denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula with Xi, North Korea, a military and economic ally of China, issued a statement on Saturday dismissing any efforts to remove its nuclear arsenal as an unrealisable "pipe dream".

Trump met Xi on Thursday ahead of the APEC summit, striking a deal that includes lower US tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing's crackdown on the illicit fentanyl trade, the resumption of US soybean purchases and a continued flow of rare earth exports.

Taiwan takes up chips
Meanwhile, Taiwan's representative to the APEC summit and former economy minister Lin Hsin-i said he and US treasury secretary Scott Bessent discussed supply chains and semiconductors during a meeting on the sidelines of the summit.

The island's US exports, apart from semiconductors, are currently subject to a 20% tariff, though Taipei has been in talks to get the figure reduced.

Japan not renegotiating deal
Elsewhere, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she had no plans to renegotiate a $550-billion investment package deal inked with the US.

"I believe that even if the prime minister changes, promises made between governments should not be altered," she told reporters.