Trade tensions threaten to overshadow Apec meetings

All eyes are on whether members can reach consensus on a joint statement

- Wendy Teo

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaking at the Apec Economic Leaders' Meetings in the South Korean city of Gyeongju on Oct 31. The circumstances of the 2025 meetings are strikingly similar to that of the 2018 Apec summit, which ended without a joint statement for the first time in the forum's 30-year history.

(PHOTO: AFP)

Despite US President Donald Trump’s absence from the ongoing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, his shadow looms large.

All eyes are on whether the 21 member economies will be able to issue a joint communique when the annual meetings conclude on Nov 1, or if it will end as it did at the 2018 Apec summit in Papua New Guinea, without a joint statement for the first time in the forum's 30-year history.

The 2018 deadlock occurred amid the outbreak of the US-China trade war, when Mr Trump, during his first term, imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods, prompting retaliation from Beijing.

At the 2018 forum that Mr Trump had also skipped, his officials pressed for tougher language on unfair trade practices and World Trade Organisation (WTO) reforms, while China objected to being singled out.

A compromise could not be brokered, and the forum concluded that year without a declaration, which can only be adopted by consensus, with support from every single member.

Seven years later, the circumstances are strikingly similar.