Fri Oct 31 02:09:42 UTC 2025: News Article:

Xi Jinping Takes Center Stage at APEC Summit Amid Trade Tensions and Leadership Changes

GYEONGJU, South Korea – October 31, 2025 – Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to be the focal point of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, as world leaders gather to discuss bolstering supply chains and reducing trade barriers. The summit comes on the heels of a fragile trade truce secured between President Xi and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after President Trump skipped the Summit.

With the United States playing a reduced role in the summit, attention is now on President Xi, who is scheduled to hold talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

President Xi’s meeting with Prime Minister Takaichi marks their first encounter, with concerns over potential strains in relations due to her nationalistic views and hawkish security policies. Discussions are expected to include sensitive issues such as the detention of Japanese nationals in China and Beijing’s import restrictions on Japanese products.

Prime Minister Carney will use his meeting with President Xi to restart broad engagement with China after years of poor relations. Embroiled in a trade war with its biggest trading partner, the United States, Canada is aiming to wean itself off that overwhelming dependence and seek new markets as China is Canada’s second biggest trading partner.

Despite ongoing negotiations, doubts remain among diplomats regarding the likelihood of a substantive joint statement emerging from the summit, reflecting deep fractures in global politics. However, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun expressed optimism that a leaders’ declaration would be adopted by the summit’s conclusion on Saturday.

Adding to the summit’s significance, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to address a parallel gathering of executives, against the backdrop of Nvidia becoming the first company to surpass a $5 trillion valuation. However, the issue of the U.S. chipmaker’s sale of advanced AI chips in China was seemingly left out of yesterday’s Xi-Trump summit.

The APEC summit continues through Saturday, with the hope of fostering cooperation and addressing critical economic challenges in the Asia-Pacific region.

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