–Dilip Sharma
Kathmandu, 15 November (RSS): The Asia-Pacific region leaders’ summit has started in Lima from Friday.
US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will hold a live meeting in Lima on Saturday amid diplomatic uncertainty caused by the election victory of US President-elect Donald Trump. Xi and Biden arrived in Lima on Thursday with other world leaders for the two-day head-of-state meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group.
APEC, which jointly represents 60 percent of the world’s gross domestic product and more than 40 percent of global trade, and was established in 1989 with the goal of regional trade liberalization, encompasses 21 economies. The agenda of the summit, which supporters termed inclusive development, will focus on trade and investment. Peru has deployed more than 13,000 members of the armed forces to maintain peace in Lima as transport workers and businessmen begin three days of protests against crime and alleged government neglect.
US officials have said that Saturday’s talks between US President Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi will likely be the last meeting between the top leaders of the world’s largest economies before Trump is sworn in as US president in January. Since the newly elected president of the Republican Party has indicated that he will adopt a confrontational approach with Beijing for his second term, the bilateral meeting is being watched with special importance.
Uncertainty about Trump’s next move has overshadowed the agenda, like the ongoing COP-29 climate talks in Azerbaijan and the G-20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next week. APEC ministers including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a closed-door meeting in Lima on Thursday.
Trump has announced this week that he will appoint Senator Marco Rubio to replace Blinken. He is a confidant of US President-elect Trump, who has a strong opinion on China. Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, Indonesia and others will participate in the conference. President of APEC member country Russia Vladimir Putin will not attend the conference.
US President-elect Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda is based on protectionist trade policies, increased domestic fossil fuel exports, and avoidance of foreign conflict. It threatens the coalition Biden has built on issues ranging from the war in Ukraine and the Middle East to climate change and trade.
Newly elected Republican President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 60 percent on imports of Chinese goods to reduce the imbalance in bilateral trade. China is grappling with a prolonged real estate crisis and sluggish consumption. This can only be made worse by a new trade war with Washington.
Economists say punitive taxes will also harm the US economy.
China is an ally of the West, Russia and North Korea, and is increasing its military capabilities, increasing pressure on Taiwan. It is expanding its reach in Latin America through infrastructure and other projects under its Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday inaugurated South America’s first Chinese-invested port in Chanke, north of Lima, and in this context, American officials have warned Latin American countries to be cautious about Chinese investment.
Meanwhile, Biden will also meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Eun Suk Yeol on Friday. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who is visiting with Biden, has said that the partner nations will announce the formation of a secretariat to ensure that their alliance is a ‘permanent feature of American policy’.
China is not the only country that will become the star of Trump’s economic growth policy. The incoming US President Trump has also warned that if Mexico does not stop the “criminal and drug invasion” that crosses the border, he will impose tariffs of 25 percent or more on goods coming from there.
