South Korea is hosting this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Gyeongju, which officially opened on the morning of the 31st at the Gyeongju HICO Convention Center. To mark the occasion, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung personally welcomed the leaders of the 21 member economies, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takamichi, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Canadian Prime Minister Carney, and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
This is the first face-to-face meeting between Lee Jae-myung and Xi Jinping. Lee greeted with a “Welcome,” and asked, “Was your journey here smooth?” to which Xi Jinping replied, “Hello.”
The first meeting of the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Informal Meeting is a closed-door discussion between Lee Jae-myung and the leaders of the member economies.
The theme of the first meeting is “Towards a Closer and More Resilient Global Community.” During this session, Lee Jae-myung will discuss promoting trade and investment, strengthening economic connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region, and revitalizing the potential of public-private cooperation.
After Xi Jinping and U.S. President Trump reached a fragile trade truce, Xi will become a focal point at the APEC summit and is scheduled to hold meetings with the leaders of Canada and Japan.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent will attend the summit’s opening ceremony on behalf of President Trump.