BANGKOK, Nov 18 – Thailand, the APEC summit’s host country, asked the group’s leaders convening on Friday and Saturday in Bangkok to “ascend beyond divisions” and emphasize tackling global economic challenges like trade and inflation.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference promoted economic integration that included 38% of the world population, 62% of GDP, and 48% of trade.
The summit hosted China’s President Xi Jinping, and Kamala Harris, U.S. Vice President. While Thailand expects to make headway toward establishing the Asia Pacific Free Trade Area (FTAAP), the negotiations take place amid geopolitical concerns over the Ukraine conflict and other quests like conflicts between the Korean peninsula and Taiwan.
Thailand’s Foreign Minister, Don Pramudwinai, said on Thursday that the conference of the 21-member bloc is operating at a “critical point” in the globe’s history, with the world confronting many challenges.
“This is the cause as APEC strives to rise above the problems and bring hope to the globe,” he added.
APEC Summit held tight security to handle approximately 100 anti-government bodies that gathered at the meeting assembly in Bangkok.
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Xi said in the meeting, “No effort to conduct a new cold war will ever be tolerated by the people or by our times.” Tariffs, Taiwan, intellectual property, the elimination of Hong Kong’s autonomy, and disagreements over the South China Sea, among other concerns, have stressed the relations between the world’s two largest economies in recent years.
A senior US official said Tuesday that Vice President Harris visits the Philippine islands of Palawan on the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing may interpret as a provocation.
Harris will be the highest-ranking US official to visit the Spratly Islands’ nearby island group. China has dug the sea bottom to construct harbors and airstrips on the Spratlys, claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
Harris will visit Palawan following the APEC conference, following the regional meetings overshadowed by geopolitical tensions over the Ukraine crisis.
At a G20 conference earlier this week in Bali, nations unanimously issued a proclamation condemning the Ukraine war but acknowledged that other countries viewed the crisis differently.
Russia is a member of the G20 and APEC, although President Vladimir Putin has not attended either summit. Andrei Belousov, First Deputy Prime Minister, will represent him at APEC.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is also in attendance, while French President Emmanuel Macron is a special guest.
Xi met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Bangkok, the first leadership-level encounter between the nations in over three years. Following, Kishida claimed he addressed worries regarding Taiwan Strait peace.
According to China’s CCTV, Xi reminded Kishida that the Taiwan problem was the political underpinning of their two nations’ ties, and territorial conflicts ensure keen problem-solving challenges. The encounter comes a day after Xi publicly chastised Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for purported leaks of their closed-door meeting in Bali, a rare public expression of anger by Xi. Trudeau is in Bangkok.
