Copyright timesnownews
The leaders of 21 Asian and Pacific Rim nations opened their annual summit on Friday in the South Korean city of Gyeongju following a successful meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Opening the summit as chair, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for greater cooperation and solidarity to overcome new challenges. "It's obvious that we can't always stand on the same side, as our national interests are at stake. But we can join together for the ultimate goal of shared prosperity," Lee said, as quoted by news agency AP. "I hope we will have candid and constructive discussions on how we can achieve APEC's vision in the face of the new challenge of a rapidly changing international economic environment." This year's two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju city has been heavily overshadowed by Thursday's Trump-Xi meeting. Trump-Xi Meet In Busan Trump met his Chinese counterpart in Busan, a meeting he described a "roaring success." After the meeting, Trump said that he would cut tariffs on China, while Beijing had agreed to allow the export of rare earth elements and start buying American soybeans. The US President told reporters aboard Air Force One that the US would lower tariffs implemented earlier this year as punishment on China for its selling of chemicals used to make fentanyl from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. That brings the total combined tariff rate on China down from 57 per cent to 47 per cent. 21 Leaders Open APEC Summit Established in 1989 during a period of increased globalisation, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) represents more than half of global trade. The forum champions free and open trade and investment to accelerate regional economic integration and has also been credited with bringing together countries embroiled in competitions to work together on common initiatives without binding statements, according to AP. However, in recent times the grouping has been facing challenges due to the tariff war between the US and China, supply chain vulnerabilities, aging populations and the impact of AI on jobs. With the recent Trump-Xi meeting, the situation seems hopeful. Xi-Trump Deal A Relief To World? The deals between Trump and Xi are being seen as a relief to the world economy, as experts previously warned that a failure to dial down trade tensions between the world's two largest economies were certain to deepen global economic uncertainties.
