With September coming to a close, the international Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is quickly rounding the corner. Formed in 1989 in Australia, the summit became a place in which international discussion about free trade and economic cooperation could be held. Due to the rapid economic growth of nations along the Pacific Rim, they banded together in order to further spur growth as a collective. Nations including China, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and others were all in attendance. With the previous annual summits, nations saw immense growth and better international relations. The "residents of the Asia-Pacific saw their per capita income rise by 74 percent, lifting millions out of poverty and creating a growing middle class in less than three decades" (APEC).
As the summit will be held in San Francisco, Mayor of San Francisco London Breed mentions her hopes for the summit, "they will look at San Francisco and say to themselves, '... I want to experience more of San Francisco. I want to do business in San Francisco'"(S.F. Chronicle). With the hopeful success of the APEC summit, Breed hopes to highlight the pleasant features of San Francisco with a warm attitude.With the international attention around the APEC summit, possible economic growth is of high importance. This can be connected to the effects of commerce and the commerce clause. As the government highly values international relations and how that effects their own economic situation, the U.S. commerce can be heavily affected. This explains the attentiveness of the U.S. government to host a successful APEC summit.
(Image Credits: S.F. Chronicle)
With a booming economy second to only the U.S., China's representative serves as an important factor in negotiations and discussions. Even though the economic growth in China has reached a relatively low point, they still serve as one of the most important factors in economic discussions. As the two international superpowers look past the conflict over currnet issues in Taiwan, they are in communication as expectations of Xi Jinping attending are slowly rising. As Xi Jinping missed the G20 (Group of 20) summit, which was another major summit discussing international economic and financial stability, suspicion is starting to rise as to whether Xi Jinping honors the nations and the collective economic benefits.
(Image Credits: Reuters)
Recently speaking towards Xi Jinping's involvement in the summit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attempts to set goals and conditions for the upcoming meeting. Serving as the representative, he points towards the fact that China will be deeply involved in the summit and will comply to the international community's expectations. As the APEC summit stands as an important convention especially towards the unclear future, strong representation of the respective nations should be upheld. In order to truly display the priorities of the nation along with the push for unification throughout nations, Xi Jinping should take a stand and prove that China is valuing the economic relations and negotiations throughout nations.
- Aidan Ogasawara
Sources:
https://www.reuters.com/world/china-says-willing-play-constructive-role-apecs-success-2023-09-26/
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-does-g20-do
https://www.apec.org/about-us/about-apec/achievements-and-benefits
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/apec-international-san-francisco-18363002.php
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/apec#:~:text=Asia%20Pacific%20Economic%20Cooperation%2C%20or,cooperation%20along%20the%20Pacific%20Rim.
4 comments:
I find it interesting how highlighted how China, another global superpower similar to the U.S., is key to the negotiations as they can set the tone for how negotiations will turn out as they are one of the largest carbon emitters, but also opposed to many American views. This reality is somewhat disappointing, as it seems that an issue as important as global warming might be used as political leverage by seemingly both the U.S. and China, along with likely other global superpowers, as the rift between Western and Eastern countries seems to grow larger by the day. Ultimately, I think your post does a great job encapsulating how this summit, although not as large as G20, can still have a large and long lasting impact on climate policies and foreign relations on the topic.
It will be interesting to see the role China will play, as they currently are struggling with a multitude of issues such as demographic collapse, a potential housing collapse, and decreasing foreign investment as companies move their operations out of the nation. China should use the APEC Summit to try and get foreign direct investment up, as it was previously one of the most significant factors contributing to China's growth from the 1990s until recently. Additionally, one of China's largest issues, a potential real estate crash would have widespread economic impacts across the globe, but especially for nations attending the APEC Summit; if China doesn't make themselves seem like a safe place for foreign investment, China's plans to have the Yuan become a widely used currency rivaling the US Dollar would face yet another setback. Also, with Korea and Taiwan attending this summit, it will be extremely interesting to see how the topic of semiconductor design and manufacturing is discussed, as Western semiconductor companies have largely left China in favor of Korean, Taiwanese, or American alternatives after it was found that China was stealing technology from western companies who had operations in China. Ultimately, this Summit will be integral for China to help stabilize its economy amidst a time of great confusion and panic.
I think that in general, the upcoming APEC summit is going to be very important for the success of the Chinese economy and international relations. Though relations are currently shaky between the U.S. and China, the summit could be the first step to bringing them closer to eye-level with each other. As Luke mentioned, the economic development can play a large role towards prevention of climate change. With the climate crisis, using more renewable energy sources and focusing heavily on preservation of land can be very beneficial for the climate agenda. In addition, as Ethan mentioned, China is going through a multitude of internal affairs. By branching out at the summit and displaying themselves as an inviting nation worthy of foreign investment, they can stabilize the economy. These reasons further prove the fact that the APEC summit is a crucial event for China to attend and have a large impact on.
As of recently, President Joe Biden has announced that he may meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping "on the sidelines" during the APEC summit in San Francisco. This could possibly be another major factor in the success of US international relations with China. With the tension following the Biden administration shooting down what they had suspected to be a Chinese spy balloon, and after Chinese hackers stole 60,000 State Department emails in a breach, the US had restricted exporting advanced computer chips to China. Ethan mentions this with the topic of semiconductors, but this summit and such possible discussions with President Biden could be pivotal for the future of China's economy. There has also been great tension through the Chinese government's position with Russia's war effort in Ukraine. With US intelligence revealing China assisting Moscow with weaponry, the US and China are only further split with differences. This summit will be crucial to begin mending the relations of the two nations with the world’s two largest economies, and similar to the proposed sideline meeting, numerous meetings with President Xi Jinping and the Chinese government will drive potential success in their nation's future prosperity.
Sources: https://apnews.com/article/biden-xi-meeting-apec-san-francisco-003d5f6ff7a7ad712b4011c9d76f9c9e
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