With just over a month remaining before the APEC summit, negotiators from 21 member countries have been working to hammer out a joint statement despite widening rifts over trade issues, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Monday.
The APEC Ministerial Meeting, a joint session of foreign and trade ministers, is set for Oct. 29-30, followed by a leaders’ summit on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
Both gatherings are expected to produce outcome documents if there is consensus, a senior Foreign Ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
“Of course, this depends on successful negotiations, but we are hopeful,” the official said.
“The AMM joint statement is usually much longer and more detailed than the leaders’ declaration, since it reflects discussions from 14 ministerial-level meetings. Negotiations on both texts are expected to continue until the very last minute of the leaders’ week.”
Attention is focused on whether the summit can deliver what is tentatively being called the “Gyeongju Declaration,” following the tradition of naming the document after the host city.
APEC was established to promote trade growth and support the multilateral trading system. APEC has often used its summit declarations to back free trade and reaffirm the role of the World Trade Organization. However, reaching an agreement has become harder in recent years as geopolitical and trade tensions rise.
This year, one of the biggest issues is whether, and how strongly, to support the WTO and its commitment to free trade under US President Donald Trump's second term. Washington is pushing for WTO reform and stricter trade rules, while Beijing emphasizes the importance of protecting multilateralism.
APEC operates by consensus, so all 21 member economies must agree on the wording of a declaration for it to be adopted. If even one economy disagrees, the outcome is downgraded to a chair’s statement.
The 2018 APEC summit in Papua New Guinea was the first time in the APEC summit's history that leaders failed to issue a joint statement, mostly due to the sharp escalation of US-China tensions at the time.
Against this backdrop, expectations are high for the planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the APEC summit, as the summit could either break the deadlock or deepen divisions.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
