U.S. defends early Trump departure from APEC summit in South Korea

U.S. defends early Trump departure from APEC summit in South Korea
Reuters

The United States’ participation at this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea has been “very strong and robust,” a senior U.S. official said on Friday, after President Donald Trump left before the start of the leaders’ meeting.

Casey Mace, the U.S. Senior Official to APEC, told reporters on the sidelines of the gathering that scheduling conflicts prevented Mr Trump from attending all events. “Schedules don’t always align, and in the case of this week, they didn’t align perfectly to allow for President Trump to stay for all of the events,” Mace said.

Mr Trump departed South Korea after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, where the two leaders finalised a bilateral trade deal. Xi was expected to remain in Seoul until the forum’s conclusion and addressed APEC leaders on Friday.

After returning from his Asia tour, Mr Trump hosted the White House’s annual Halloween celebration with First Lady Melania Trump later on Thursday.

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