Leaders of China and the US set for same virtual stage at Apec trade forum this week
- Host New Zealand is talking up opportunities for leaders to discuss and tackle challenges such as the pandemic and climate change
- While Taiwan intends to lobby for admission to CPTPP trade pact, the virtual nature of the forum allows no room for sideline diplomacy, academic says
There is plenty of tension in the air, primarily between Beijing and Washington over trade, politics and human rights, with Taiwan’s future increasingly emerging as a potential flashpoint.
That is a theme also stressed by Vangelis Vitalis, New Zealand’s deputy trade and economic secretary. “There may be tensions, but the focus this year in Apec has been very much on where it is that we can work together,” he said at a briefing on Friday.
Started in 1989, Apec has 21 members, including other heavyweights such as Japan and Russia, as well as smaller states, such as Brunei and Singapore. Its goal is to promote free trade, and the non-binding forum has held discussions that eventually led to some of the world’s biggest trade agreements, according to Vitalis.
“Apec is the creator of norms and guidelines, it’s the ecosystem from which we then develop the hard rules and architecture,” Vitalis said.
