Heads of state and government of the 21 member countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) came to a meeting in the Thai capital Bangkok on Friday and Saturday.
As host, Thailand hopes to make progress on the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area (FTAAP) discussion, but the talks come amid geopolitical tensions over the war in Ukraine and regional flashpoints like Taiwan and the Korean peninsula. What is APEC?
APEC is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to promote economic integration. As a grouping, they account for 38% of the world’s population, 62% of GDP and 48% of trade. The 21 members of APEC are:
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United States and Vietnam. Here you can see who is there:
US Vice President KAMALA HARRIS Harris is representing President Joe Biden. The United States will host APEC in 2023. After the Bangkok meeting, Harris will travel to the Philippines. Her visit to the Philippines will take place on the edge of the disputed South China Sea, a move Beijing could see as a rebuke.
CHINA PRESIDENT XI JINPING Xi met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for talks in Bangkok on Thursday. Kishida said he conveyed regional security concerns to Xi amid rising tensions in Asia over China’s maritime ambitions. Xi was quoted by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV as telling Kishida China and Japan should deepen trust, deepen areas of cooperation and regional integration, and resist “conflict and confrontation.”
RUSSIA’S FIRST DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ANDREI BELOUSOV Belousov will represent President Valadmir Putin at APEC. At an APEC meeting in Bangkok earlier this year, officials from the United States and other countries walked out of a meeting in protest at the Russian invasion of Ukraine as Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov delivered a speech.
JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER FUMIO KISHIDA THAILANDER PRIME MINISTER PRAYUTH CHAN-OCHA
At the start of the meetings, Thailand called on APEC members to “rise above differences” after geopolitical tensions dominated the Bali and Phnom Penh summits over the war in Ukraine. Prayut said he wants the talks to discuss how leaders can support the transition to sustainable economic growth and development. CANADA’S PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU
China’s leader appeared to confront Trudeau at the G20 summit in Bali on Wednesday after accusing him of divulging details from a meeting behind closed doors, a rare public display of Xi’s anger. China’s foreign ministry said Thursday Xi has not criticized Trudeau over the alleged leaks. SOUTH KOREAN PRIME MINISTER HAN DUCK-SOO
According to Yonhap, Premier Han Duck-soo is expected to hold meetings with New Zealand and Peru, and also seek support for South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. MALAYSIAN CHIEF SECRETARY TO ZUKI ALI GOVERNMENT
Malaysia is represented by its Government Secretary, with the country holding general elections on November 19. PAPUA NEW GUINEA PRIME MINISTER JAMES MARAPE
Marape will hold meetings with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. MEXICAN AMBASSADOR TO THAILAND BERNARDO CORDOVA TELLO
The ambassador will represent President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT FERDINAND MARCOS JR
President Marcos will hold a bilateral meeting with China’s Xi and US Vice President Harris in Manila next week, with tensions over Taiwan on the agenda. SINGAPORE PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG
Lee will hold bilateral meetings with China’s Xi VIETNAM PRESIDENT NGUYEN XUAN PHUC
CHILE PRESIDENT GABRIEL BORIC FONT INDONESIAN PRESIDENT JOKO WIDODO
NEW ZEALAND’S PRIME MINISTER JACINDA ARDERN PERU VICE PRESIDENT DINA BOLUARTE
BRUNEI SULTAN HASSANAL BOLKIAH AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE
HONG KONG: CHIEF EXECUTIVE JOHN LEE KA-CHIU TAIWAN: TSMC FOUNDER MORRIS CHANG
This year, host Thailand has also invited France and Saudi Arabia. FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON
Macron will deliver a keynote speech. SAUDI ARABIA CROWN PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
The visit of the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia comes as the relationship between Thailand and Saudi Arabia is beginning to normalize this year. For nearly three decades, diplomatic relations were frozen over the “Blue Diamond affair,” known as the theft of $20 million worth of jewelry by a Thai janitor.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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