Asia-Pacific leaders call for shared trade benefits as APEC summit wraps up

Confronted with deepening fractures in the global trading system, Asia-Pacific leaders adopted a joint declaration at the close of the annual APEC summit on Saturday, underscoring the need for resilience and shared prosperity in trade.

This year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, hosted by South Korea, took place against a backdrop of intensifying geopolitical tensions and competing economic strategies from U.S. tariffs to Chinese export controls that have placed growing strain on global commerce.

In the run-up to the summit, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a series of trade deals with several nations, including China and South Korea, but departed before the summit officially began.

Analysts noted that Washington’s stance was still reflected in the final declaration, which, unlike last year’s, omitted any reference to multilateralism or the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“This reflects a recognition among member states that it will be extremely difficult to restore a free trade order centred on multilateralism and the WTO,” said Heo Yoon, a professor of international trade at Sogang University in Seoul. “We can no longer deny that a paradigm shift in the global trade order is under way.”

With Trump’s early exit, China sought to position itself as a consistent champion of free and open trade — a role long occupied by the United States. President Xi Jinping announced that China would host APEC in Shenzhen in 2026.

In his closing remarks, Xi proposed establishing a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation, while leaders also adopted declarations on demographic change and AI. However, there was no mention of AI regulation.

“China is clearly using Trump’s absence from APEC to engage more actively with nations anxious about the U.S. retreat and China’s rise,” said Li Xing, a professor at the Guangdong Institute for International Strategies. “Beijing wants to reassure countries such as South Korea that it seeks not dominance, but shared prosperity.”

Nevertheless, Heo and other analysts suggested the declaration showed members’ caution in appearing to cast the U.S. as a threat to free trade while portraying China as the new defender of multilateralism. “Few countries believe a new trade order could function without the U.S.,” Heo added.

South Korea’s Lee hosts Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi concluded his three-day visit to South Korea on Saturday with a state dinner and summit hosted by President Lee Jae Myung, the newly elected leader who has vowed to balance Seoul’s alliance with Washington while maintaining constructive ties with Beijing.

For Lee, who took office in June after the removal of his hawkish predecessor over a failed attempt to declare martial law, the stakes were high. He faces the challenge of safeguarding South Korea’s export-driven economy and reducing tensions with North Korea amid escalating U.S.–China rivalry.

Lee admitted it was difficult to say that relations between Seoul and Beijing had ever been fully normalised but expressed hope for a meaningful reset. “We must go beyond mere restoration and find a cooperative path that benefits both sides,” he told reporters ahead of his meeting with Xi.

Earlier in the week, Lee hosted Trump for a brief state visit, offering gifts and warm praise before announcing a surprise trade agreement that lowers U.S. tariffs in exchange for billions of dollars in South Korean investment. He held a similar reception for Xi on Saturday — including a summit and a state banquet — marking the Chinese leader’s first visit to South Korea in 11 years.

North Korea on the agenda

According to Seoul’s presidential office, Lee asked Xi to assist in re-engaging North Korea. However, Chinese state media made no mention of Pyongyang in their reports on the meeting.

After Seoul indicated that Lee planned to raise the issue of denuclearisation, North Korea — China’s close military and economic ally — issued a statement on Saturday rejecting any attempt to dismantle its nuclear arsenal as an unrealistic “pipe dream.”

During his stay in South Korea, Trump offered to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, though Pyongyang did not publicly respond.

Trump also met Xi in the days before the APEC summit, reaching an agreement to reduce U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods in return for Beijing’s efforts to curb the illicit fentanyl trade, resume purchases of U.S. soybeans, and maintain rare earth exports. Xi also held talks with the leaders of Japan, Canada, and Thailand.

Taiwan’s representative to APEC, Lin Hsin-i, said on Saturday that he had discussed semiconductor and supply chain cooperation with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the sidelines of the event.

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