APEC Doubts Over Putin and Trump's Absence and No Joint Statement
(Baonghean.vn) - With US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin absent and the leaders attending the conference unable to issue a joint statement, some analysts are questioning whether the annual APEC meeting is worth holding anymore.
“Expectations are always low and even unattainable,” said expert William Reinsch from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
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| Some analysts are questioning whether the annual APEC meeting is worth holding anymore. Photo: Getty |
It took five years to prepare for the two-day APEC conference in Papua New Guinea, costing millions of dollars and requiring the deployment of at least one warship and the hiring of three yachts to house delegates.
And in the end, the leaders left with just three group photos and a gaudy uniform that may never be worn again. The annual meeting, which began three decades ago, was seen as a way to promote the liberalization of trade.
However, the conference has now fallen short of that expectation, and the capital Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) is simply a new venue for the Sino-US spat to continue.
APEC is more than just an annual scrum, said Alan Bollard, executive director of the APEC Secretariat. “APEC is not just a meeting of leaders, it is a place for member economies to nurture ideas throughout the year,” he said.
US officials hope that next year, APEC will have the presence of President Trump again, but this will not make a big difference if the trend of supporting protectionism and nationalism still exists, and the US and China continue to have deep disagreements./.
