Chile’s Apec gathering cancelled, throwing Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s planned trade war agreement signing into question
- Trump announced earlier this month that he and Xi would sign ‘phase one’ of a trade war accord at Apec in November
- But unrest in Chile has led to the cancellation of the meeting as well as December’s COP25 UN climate change conference
Chile’s government cancelled the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Economic Leaders’ Meeting next month, where presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping were expected to sign an interim trade agreement.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera cancelled the series of meetings that had been scheduled for November 16 and 17 because of unrest that has taxed the country’s security forces. Pinera also cancelled a United Nations climate change conference, also known as the COP25, which was scheduled for December.
“This has been a very difficult decision. We understand perfectly the importance of Apec and COP for Chile and the world, but we have based our decision on common sense,” Pinera announced on Wednesday. “A president needs to put its people above everything else.”
The Apec Secretariat’s office in Singapore confirmed Pinera’s announcement. This would be the first cancellation of an Apec leaders summit since the annual regional forum was launched in Seattle in 1993.
Xi and Trump were expected to meet immediately after the Apec summit to sign a “phase one” trade deal. Trade envoys from Beijing and Washington have been working since they announced earlier this month their intention to finalise the text for the two leaders to sign.