US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping arrived in Peru Thursday for an Asia-Pacific summit where they will likely meet for the last time under a cloud of diplomatic uncertainty cast by Donald Trump’s election victory.
Air Force One touched down at an air base outside Lima as Xi, who landed hours earlier, was being received at the presidential palace by Peruvian leader Dina Boluarte on the eve of a two-day heads-of-state meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping.
The men are due to hold talks Saturday, in what a US administration official said will probably be the last face-to-face between the sitting leaders of the world’s largest economies before Trump is sworn in in January.
With the Republican president-elect having signaled a confrontational approach to Beijing for his second term, the bilateral meeting will be a closely watched affair.
APEC, created in 1989 with the goal of regional trade liberalization, brings together 21 economies that jointly represent about 60 percent of world GDP and over 40 percent of global commerce.
The summit program was to focus on trade and investment for what proponents dubbed inclusive growth.
But uncertainty over Trump’s next moves now clouds the agenda — as it does for the COP29 climate talks underway in Azerbaijan, and a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next week.
On Thursday, APEC ministers, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, held their own meeting behind closed doors in Lima to set the tone for the two-day summit to follow.
Trump announced this week he will replace Blinken with Senator Marco Rubio, a China hawk.
The summit will also be attended by Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia and Indonesia, among others.
President Vladimir Putin of APEC member Russia will not be present.
Trump’s “America First” agenda is characterized by protectionist stances on global commerce, fossil fuel extraction and foreign conflicts.
It threatens alliances Biden has built on issues ranging from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to climate change and trade.
The Republican president-elect has threatened tariffs of up to 60 percent on imports of Chinese goods to even out what he says is an imbalance in bilateral trade.
Peru has deployed more than 13,000 members of the armed forces to keep the peace in Lima as transport workers and shop owners protested against crime and perceived government neglect.
PHOTO CAPTION
US President Joe Biden disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru, November 14, 2024, as he travels to Peru to attend the APEC Summit before continuing to Brazil for the G20 Summit. US President Joe Biden touched down in Peru November 14, 2024 for an Asia-Pacific leaders’ summit where he will meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a likely final encounter before Donald Trump takes over the White House. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP
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