Journalism of Courage
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to take centre stage at an annual gathering of Pacific Rim leaders in South Korea on Friday, holding separate talks with his Japanese and Canadian counterparts following a fragile trade truce reached with US President Donald Trump. The agreement, struck just before Trump’s departure from South Korea, will temporarily suspend additional curbs on China’s exports of rare earth elements, easing concerns over potential disruptions to global supply chains.
Bolstering supply chain resilience is a central focus at this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, hosted in the historic South Korean city of Gyeongju. The 21-member economic bloc aims to promote cooperation and reduce trade and investment barriers, although its decisions are non-binding and consensus has become increasingly difficult in recent years.
With the US president skipping the main two-day APEC summit, attention now turns to Xi.
While bilateral ties have been relatively stable in recent years, analysts say Takaichi’s rise, as Japan’s first female leader and a known conservative on defence and security, could complicate relations.
One of her first acts in office was to accelerate Japan’s military build-up to defend its islands from what Tokyo views as growing Chinese assertiveness. Japan also hosts the largest concentration of US military forces overseas.
Tensions over Beijing’s detention of Japanese nationals and its import restrictions on Japanese beef, seafood and agricultural products are also expected to be discussed during the meeting, Reuters reported.
Xi will also meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at 4:00 pm local time (0700 GMT), Carney’s office said. The goal, according to officials cited by Reuters, is to restart broad engagement with Beijing after years of strained relations.
Canada, which has been locked in a trade dispute with its main partner, the United States, is seeking to diversify its economic ties. China remains its second-largest trading partner.
Relations between Beijing and Ottawa soured under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, during which Canadian citizens were detained and executed by China, and Canadian security agencies accused Beijing of interfering in two federal elections. Xi also publicly rebuked Trudeau in 2022, accusing him of leaking their private discussions to the press.
Economic tensions have persisted. In August, China announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola imports, a year after Canada imposed a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. Senior officials from both sides met earlier this month but signalled no breakthrough.
Standing in for Trump, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will attend the opening session of the APEC summit. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is set to host discussions on “restoring the will to cooperate in the Asia-Pacific region.”
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told reporters that negotiations were still ongoing over a joint statement for the ministerial meeting but expressed optimism it would be adopted alongside a leaders’ declaration when the summit concludes on Saturday.
(With inputs from agencies)
