SEOGWIPO, May 16 — The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group adopted a statement on Friday that cited "fundamental challenges" facing the global trading system, but stopped short of discussing a joint response to United States (US) tariffs looming large over its meeting.
The annual gathering is the first major multilateral trade gathering since US President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs that hit more than half of the 21 members of the bloc with US import duties in excess of the 10 per cent minimum.
"We are concerned with the fundamental challenges faced by the global trading system," the APEC members said in the joint statement.
They also said they remained committed to APEC as the main forum for regional economic cooperation and addressing the Asia-Pacific region's economic challenges.
APEC expressed support for the continued role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), while noting its shortcomings.
"We recognise the importance of the WTO to advance trade issues, and acknowledge the agreed-upon rules in the WTO as an integral part of the global trading system."
"The WTO has challenges and needs meaningful, necessary, and comprehensive reform to improve all its functions, through innovative approaches, to be more relevant and responsive in light of today's realities," it said.
The Trump administration views the WTO as a body that has enabled China to gain an unfair export advantage and has recently moved to suspend US funding to the institution.
Seoul-based Sogang University's management professor Kim Yong Jin said the joint statement reflected the US' claims "they are at a disadvantage under WTO, and that needs to be fixed."
APEC warned at the start of the meeting that exports from a region that accounts for around half of world trade would slow sharply this year due to the US tariffs.
Earlier on Friday, some diplomats from member countries had expressed doubts the group would even be able to adopt a joint statement. However, they said South Korea's Minister for Trade Cheong In-kyo had pushed hard for some consensus.
"There was new momentum created through these meetings to overcome a difficult situation ... as APEC urged a trans-regional effort to break through uncertainties engulfing the global economy," he told a briefing.
In February, a Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Cape Town failed to agree on a joint communique after top officials from several countries, including the US, skipped it.
Cheong said there was no "official" discussion about a joint response to US tariffs, despite pressure from some members for such talks.
"From our standpoint, it is difficult to jointly respond because each country is in a completely different situation," he said.
APEC is a non-binding regional economic forum established in 1989 to facilitate deepening ties in the Asia-Pacific region. Its member economies include the US, China, countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia, and Hong Kong and Taiwan.
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United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer attends the opening ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting at the International Convention Centre in Seogwipo on Jeju island, South Korea, May 15, 2025. on May 15, 2025. — Picture by REUTERS[/caption]
Bilateral meetings
For many of the member economies, the attendance of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer raised the stakes of the conference held on South Korea's Jeju Island, ahead of a leaders' summit scheduled later in the year.
According to host country officials, many, if not all, of the representatives had or sought a meeting with Greer on the first day.
He met China's Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang on Thursday, less than a week after their first face-to-face talks in Geneva on May 10 to May 11, where they agreed to significantly lower tariffs for 90 days.
Beijing's Commerce Ministry spokesperson He Yongqian told a press conference that China is always open to discussing economic and trade relations with the US through offline communication, but gave no details on the substance of the latest talks.
According to a statement from the ministry, China's Li said at the APEC meeting that in recent years individual economies had implemented so-called reciprocal tariffs, which provoked global trade frictions and strong dissatisfaction and opposition from many trading partners.
Greer also spoke with South Korea's Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun, three weeks after Seoul and Washington held their opening round of trade talks, and ministers from Malaysia and Taiwan, yielding optimism that further talks would lead to reduced tariffs.
— Reuters
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China's International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang attends the opening ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting at the International Convention Centre in Seogwipo on Jeju island, South Korea, on May 15, 2025. — Picture by REUTERS[/caption]
