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The president said he would always put US interests first and APEC nations should “abide by fair reciprocal trade”.
In stark contrast, China’s Xi Jinping said globalization was irreversible and voiced support for multilateralism.
Donald Trump has visited China and Japan as part of his five-nation Asia tour.
APEC brings together 21 economies from the Pacific region – the equivalent of about 60% of the world’s GDP.
Since taking office, President Trump has pursued his “America First” agenda and pulled the US out of the regional Trans-Pacific Partnership – a major trade deal with 12 APEC nations – arguing it would hurt US economic interests.
In a speech in the Vietnamese port city of Da Nang on November 10, President Trump railed against the World Trade Organization, which sets global trade laws, and said it “cannot function properly” if all members do not respect the rules.
Donald Trump complained about trade imbalances, saying the US had lowered market barriers and ended tariffs while other countries had not reciprocated.
“Such practices hurt many people in our country,” the president said, adding that free trade had cost millions of American jobs.
However, President Trump did not lay the blame on APEC countries, and instead accused earlier US administrations of not acting earlier to reverse the trend.
He said America would make bilateral agreements with “any Indo-Pacific partner here who abides by fair reciprocal trade”, but only “on a basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit”.
President Trump has repeatedly referred to the region as “Indo-Pacific”, a term used to define America’s new geopolitical view of Asia.
He had travelled to Da Nang from Beijing, where he had also discussed America’s huge trade imbalance with China.
After attending the APEC summit, President Trump will pay a state visit to the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.
The president will end his 12-day Asian tour in the Philippines on November 13.
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