GYEONGJU – Chinese President Xi Jinping took centre stage at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea on Friday, meeting counterparts from Canada, Japan, and Thailand after securing a fragile trade truce with US President Donald Trump.
The agreement, reached just before Trump’s departure from South Korea, suspends further US curbs on China’s exports of rare earth minerals, easing tensions that had threatened global supply chains. With Trump skipping the main two-day summit, Xi emerged as the most prominent leader at the forum focused on trade, economic cooperation, and supply chain resilience.
Read More: Trump-Xi meeting likely before or during APEC summit
In his address to the 21-member gathering, Xi called for unity amid global uncertainty, saying, “The rougher the seas, the more we must pull together.” He urged nations to strengthen the multilateral trading system and deepen economic collaboration. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, representing Trump, said Washington aimed to “rebalance trade relationships” for sustainable global growth.
Xi is also expected to meet Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, marking their first encounter since her historic rise as Japan’s first female leader. Takaichi’s nationalist stance and plans to accelerate Japan’s military build-up could test already fragile ties between Tokyo and Beijing.
Read More: Trump cuts China tariffs to 47% after ‘amazing’ Xi meeting
On the sidelines, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet Xi to explore ways to revive strained relations between their countries. Canada hopes to expand non-US exports and ease trade tensions with China following years of diplomatic friction. Xi is also slated to meet Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, while South Korea expressed optimism that leaders would issue a joint declaration at the close of the summit on Saturday.