Ministers from the Asia-Pacific region began a two-day meeting on Tuesday with economic cooperation and free trade increasingly at stake amid Russia's war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East and an intensifying U.S.-China rivalry.
The ministers from the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum are setting the stage for their leaders, who will meet later this week, to discuss the challenges faced by the region, with a much-hyped summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled to take place on the sidelines.
As the host of the event, the United States is seeking to release a joint statement by the leaders of the group that collectively accounts for around 60 percent of the world economy, bringing into focus the need for progress beforehand at the ministerial level.
The United States is focusing on ensuring resilience, sustainability and inclusiveness under its presidency of the forum, as APEC is primarily focused on economic, trade and investment issues.
No joint statement was issued after a meeting of APEC trade ministers held in Detroit in May.
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western nations have imposed a raft of sanctions on Moscow while China has been deepening both diplomatic and trade ties with the Kremlin.
The United States, for its part, is seeking to cut dependence on China, a rival in the race to achieve technological superiority, through chip-related export controls expanded under Biden. China has also hit back with trade restrictions on key minerals.
Protesters took to the streets in San Francisco ahead of the APEC summit, in opposition to free trade policies seen as benefiting big companies but hurting workers.
Among the 21 members, Japan has been a major promoter of free trade agreements, including the initial Trans-Pacific Partnership from which the United States withdrew as well as another pact that includes China.
Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura are among the ministers participating in the talks chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
The APEC members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
