US is 'not going anywhere', President Joe Biden tells Apec leaders

President Joe Biden on Thursday made America’s case to national leaders and CEOs attending the Asia-Pacific summit that the United States is committed to high standards in trade and to partnerships that will benefit economies across the Pacific. “We’re not going anywhere,” he declared.

Fresh off his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden also told business leaders that the US was “de-risking and diversifying” but not “decoupling” from Beijing. But he did not mince words in suggesting the US and friends in the Pacific could offer businesses a better option than China. He also noted that US economies had invested some $50 billion in fellow Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies in 2023, including in clean energy technologies, aviation and cybersecurity.
 

At the meeting, Biden also said he would keep working to advance a Pacific trade pact, even as his vision for a regional deal to counter China’s influence stumbled over his bid to strengthen workers’ rights. “Our work is not yet done”. 
 

While meeting with his counterparts from South Korea and Japan, Biden said, “So much of the history of the world will be written in the Asia Pacific in the coming years.” Biden also met Fumio Kishida, Japan’s Prime Minister, to discuss global and regional security issues and to advance bilateral security and economic cooperation. They discussed their respective diplomacy with China and committed to continue close coordination, the White House said.

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