GYEONGJU, South Korea -- South Korea is hosting this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in the southeastern city of Gyeongju. Beyond the leaders summit itself, which runs Friday and Saturday, a number of high-pressure bilateral meetings are being held.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who took office in June, is in the spotlight as counterparts including U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi converge in his country.
Follow the flurry of diplomacy over the coming days with Nikkei Asia.
Further reading:
Japan, South Korea leaders vow to foster 'future-oriented' relations
Xi tells Trump that 'reality demands' China-US friendship
US and South Korea agree to trade deal at APEC summit
Trump and Xi supercharge South Korea's APEC: 5 things to watch
Trump in Japan: How the US president's stay unfolded
Japan, US agree to shipbuilding cooperation as China builds capacity
Here are the latest updates (local time):
Saturday, November 1
7:50 p.m. And to wrap up this blog. Please look at our analysis of why Trump's early exit handed Xi the starring role at APEC. Thanks for reading Nikkei Asia.
7:44 p.m. South Korea and China have also signed a currency swap agreement. The two leaders are now attending a dinner.
7:22 p.m. Lee's meeting with Xi is over.
A readout from the Chinese side said that China is willing to work with South Korea, upholding the principle of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, to accelerate the second phase of negotiations on the China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, and to further explore the cooperation potential in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals, green industries, and the silver economy, thereby promoting the upgrading of economic and trade cooperation.
6:56 p.m. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a news conference in Gyeongju after her first series of diplomatic engagements that began with last week's ASEAN Summit.
She said, "The steps to achieve my goal to restore Japanese diplomacy that flourishes on the world's center stage have only just begun. But I believe we have made a good start."
"Building on this foundation, we will do our utmost to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance, collaborate with a broad range of partners to realize the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), and enhance trust-based relationships with key regional counterparts."
6:01 p.m. Lee and Xi made some comments at the opening of their bilateral.
Lee described the bilateral relationship as having "contributed greatly to China's rise to being the world's second-largest economy and South Korea's leap to being an advanced country with global industrial competitiveness."
Xi echoed his counterpart, calling his country and South Korea "inseparable partners" who have transcended "ideological differences" and "achieved prosperity by helping each other succeed," Lee's office quoted Xi as saying.
Regarding North Korea, Lee highlighted "high-level exchanges between China and North Korea" and said "I look forward to strengthening strategic communication between South Korea and China in order to resume dialogue with North Korea."
The transcript of Xi's remarks provided by Lee's office contained no direct mention of North Korea, but did include a reference to Beijing having "a will to inject more positive energy for peace and development in the region."
4:08 p.m. Read our report on Lee's press conference, at wish he said he would back a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
3:58 p.m. Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping sit down for their first summit since Lee came to office earlier this year.
3:15 p.m. Click here for the full text of the Gyeongju Declaration.
Note that the document does not include reference to the World Trade Organization, which had appeared in all previous APEC declarations. This reflects the rising global protectionism driven by U.S.-initiated tariff measures.
2:00 p.m. Lee spoke at a press conference for about 30 minutes, taking questions from media from various nations.
Here are some of his key points:
On North Korea,
- We are taking pre-emptive action to make the North side trust us
- The North has toned down its rhetoric compared to before
- The most important thing is the role of the U.S. I told Trump I will help him be a peacemaker
On China,
- The economy is the most important thing
- China's role matters for the stability of the Korean Peninsula
On Japan's Takaichi,
- She will be different as a PM as she was when she was just a politician
- Takaichi says that South Korea-Japan relations matter
- I had a very good impression of her
- We need to meet more frequently. Next, I said we should meet in her hometown of Nara
On the declaration,
- There were differences of opinion on whether to add trade and investment or not, but we agreed on that
- We reached a meaningful conclusion
1:51 p.m. Leaders adopt three documents, the Gyeongju Declaration, the APEC Artificial Intelligence Initiative and the APEC Collaborative Framework for Demographic Changes.
12:40 p.m. The media center is packed ahead of Lee's press conference in about 20 minutes.
12:25 p.m. China's southern tech hub of Shenzhen will host next year's summit in November 2026, President Xi Jinping said.
11:29 a.m. The final session of the summit is drawing to a close. During the meeting South Korea's Lee Jae Myung urged APEC member economies to embrace big changes driven by AI as an opportunity to contribute to inclusive economic growth, according to Yonhap News.
"The Republic of Korea envisions a global AI society where people around the world can equally enjoy the benefits of technological progress, and will steadily implement policies to realize this core vision," Lee said in his remarks. "We should turn the great transformation brought by AI into an opportunity."
9:30 a.m.
North Korea on Saturday denounced the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a "pipe dream" that can never be realized, in a comment that comes as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to discuss the issue on Sunday, according to North Korea's KCNA news agency.
North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong Ho criticized South Korea for seeking to raise the denuclearization issue whenever an opportunity arises. "We will show with patience that denuclearization is a 'pipe dream' which can never be realized even if it talks about it a thousand times," Pak said in a statement.
9:10 a.m. Good morning from Gyeongju. After a gala dinner and show last night, APEC leaders will attend the final session of the summit this morning, followed by the obligatory photo shoot and a press conference by host South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. We also expect a bilateral meeting between Lee and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and a possible joint declaration.
Friday, October 31
7:14 p.m. We are wrapping up our blog after Day 1 of the APEC summit. Come back here again tomorrow for more live updates.
7:10 p.m. Takaichi spoke to media after the talks that lasted around 30 minutes. The Japanese prime minister said she "frankly" expressed concerns over a range of issues, including China's activity in the East China Sea, China's export controls on rare earths and the safety of Japanese citizens living in China. She also urged China to resume imports of Japanese seafood and beef.
Takaichi also said that the Chinese side brought up the topic of Taiwan, without elaborating. She said she told Xi that favorable cross-strait relations are important for the region's safety and security.
6:25 p.m. In his opening remarks, Xi told Takaichi that as the world rapidly undergoes a once-in-a-century transformation, the two countries should advance the "long-term, healthy and stable development" of China-Japan relations."
Takaichi said that she wants to solve "various issues and challenges" between the two countries and produce concrete results. She also said she wants to "actively engage in dialogue" with the Chinese leader.
Both sides reaffirmed their "strategic and mutually beneficial relationship" and agreed to build "constructive and stable" ties.
6:04 p.m. Something to digest as we await the readouts from the Xi-Takaichi meeting? How about tonight's menu?
The APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting Gala Dinner is scheduled for 8 p.m. this evening and South Korea's presidential office announced that participants will dine on dishes that "feature a harmonious fusion of Korean and Western cuisine."
About 400 guests, including the leaders of APEC member states and their spouses, will converge at the Lahan Select Gyeongju hotel to dig into a menu prepared by chef Edward Lee. On the table will be Korean staples namul bibimbap (mixed rice and vegetable) and galbijjim (stewed ribs) made with locally sourced ingredients. There will be Western pies and caramel for dessert.
The evening will wrap up with performances of traditional Korean music and dance.
Perhaps out of concern that some guests my not like spicy food, the menu also includes "mild white kimchi that can be enjoyed by everyone."
5:12 p.m. Xi meets with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Xinhua reports. The pair exchanged greetings in a lounge where leaders gathered earlier today, but this will be the first proper conversation between the two.
Note that Xi did not send Takaichi a congratulatory message on her inauguration earlier this month, with the country's congratulations instead coming from Premier Li Qiang. Xi had sent messages to all of Takaichi's predecessors since he became president in March 2013.
Prior to the meeting, Takaichi tweeted about the summit in English.
4:46 p.m. After Carney, Xi is now meeting with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Reuters reports, citing Chinese state media.
4:28 p.m. In a speech in Gyeongju, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said his company will work more closely with South Korea's government and tech companies to build out the nation's AI infrastructure.
"Korea's leadership in technology and manufacturing positions it at the heart of the AI industrial revolution -- where accelerated computing infrastructure becomes as vital as power grids and broadband," said Huang. "Just as Korea's physical factories have inspired the world with sophisticated ships, cars, chips and electronics, the nation can now produce intelligence as a new export that will drive global transformation."
4:20 p.m. Nikkei Asia's Wataru Suzuki and Ken Moriyasu analyze the Xi-Trump summit, concluding that China and the U.S. pulled some trade war punches to fight another day.
4:05 p.m. Chinese President Xi Jinping is meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the APEC summit, Reuters reported, citing Chinese state media.
Earlier on Friday, Carney said at a business event that the world of rules-based liberalized trade and investment had passed as the global economy was going through one of the most profound changes since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Reuters reported.
Carney also said that Canada aimed to double its non-U.S. exports over the course of the next decade. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was increasing tariffs on Canada by an additional 10% "above what they're paying now," as he reacted again to an ad by Canada's Ontario province.
3:40 p.m. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi tweets a photo of her briefly meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in a lounge at the conference venue. The pair are expected to hold a summit later today -- the first since Takaichi became premier 10 days ago.
3:25 p.m. The spokesperson for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said at a briefing that Lee will meet on Saturday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that the two will discuss "people's livelihoods and denuclearization."
Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung stressed that as Xi will be on an official state visit in South Korea, the proceedings for his meeting with Lee will be "on par" with the red carpet rolled out for U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
The decision to highlight a commitment to equal treatment for the leaders of the world's two superpowers could be a reflection of the careful diplomatic balance Seoul must strike between its main ally Washington and Beijing, its largest trading partner and regional heavyweight.
2:30 p.m. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered remarks at the leaders' informal dialogue.
He said the U.S. aims to build "a more connected and resilient region" through "fair and secure trade and investment flows." He noted that the Trump administration is "rebalancing its trade relationships" to ensure "each country operates on fair and reciprocal terms."
He described a "more balanced global system" as one grounded in "transparency, market access, and fair competition." Bessent highlighted U.S. efforts to "secure and diversify global supply chains" by working with trading partners to make production networks "more secure and reliable for all."
Bessent said Trump "acted swiftly and decisively" under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to confront threats to economic stability, including "the flow of illicit fentanyl and precursors" and vulnerabilities in access to rare earth elements.
He closed by saying that "economic security is national security," adding that "when supply chains are strong, markets are efficient, and competition is fair, every economy benefits."
1:42 p.m. APEC leaders are working to finalize a joint declaration as divisions over trade and multilateralism continued to test the unity of their 21-member bloc, Nikkei Asia's Kim Jaewon writes.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said that "talks are progressing toward consensus," though added it is hard to say if the term "free trade" will appear in the declaration.
Cho's country, which is hosting APEC for the first time in two decades, is playing a mediating role to ensure the summit ends with agreement on the Gyeongju Declaration.
Analysts say that some disagreements between the U.S. and other member economies over multilateralism in trade are possible.
"The point of contention is probably that ... there are many member economies which say 'we should strengthen the multilateral system and bolster the multilateral framework,'" said Lee Jae-min, professor of international law at Seoul National University School of Law. "However, the U.S., along with some nations sharing a similar stance, may have reservations about pushing it too hard."
1:29 p.m. Spouses of the leaders have been taken on a tour around Gyeongju.
12:50 p.m. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday put forward a five-point proposal for promoting a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization and building an Asia-Pacific community, according to Chinese state media.
At the first session today, he called for joint efforts to safeguard the multilateral trading system, build an open regional economic environment, maintain the stability and smooth flow of industrial and supply chains, promote digitalization and greening of trade, as well as promote universally beneficial and inclusive development.
12:45 p.m. The leaders are now sitting down for lunch with business leaders from APEC member nations. There has been a separate CEO summit running this week in Gyeongju. South Korea's Lee will give a speech.
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To catch up on earlier developments, click here.
