China's Xi promises to protect free trade at APEC as Trump snubs major summit

Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Asia-Pacific leaders on Friday that his country would help to defend global free trade at an annual economic regional forum snubbed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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President Donald Trump left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, shake hands before their U.S.-China summit talk at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Xi took center stage at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that began Friday in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, as Trump left the country a day earlier after reaching deals with Xi meant to ease their escalating trade war.

This year's two-day APEC summit has been heavily overshadowed by the Trump-Xi meeting that was arranged on the sidelines.

Trump described his Thursday meeting with Xi as a roaring success, saying he would cut tariffs on China, while Beijing had agreed to allow the export of rare earth elements and start buying American soybeans. Their deals were a relief to a world economy rattled by trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.

Trump's decision to skip APEC fits with his well-known disdain for big, multi-nation forums that have been traditionally used to address huge global problems, but his blunt dismissal of APEC risks worsening America's reputation at a forum that represents nearly 40% of the world's population and more than half of global goods trade.

"The more turbulent the times, the more we must work together," Xi said during APEC's opening session. "The world is undergoing a period of rapid change, with the international situation becoming increasingly complex and volatile."