From Apec to Asean: While Trump skips summits, Xi gets to steal spotlight

The annual round of Asian summitry kicks off this week with one person notably absent: Donald Trump.

The US president is staying at home, sending Vice President Mike Pence in his place. The snub means the world won’t pay as much attention to a set of summits that are usually more notable for what happens on the sidelines than in the meetings themselves. It does, however, give Chinese President Xi Jinping an opportunity to steal the spotlight.

So, what are the events?

The first set of meetings will be held in Singapore, with most of the action taking place from Tuesday to Thursday.