China plans to use a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders to push though, a regional trade initiative at a time when progress on a rival US-led trade deal has stalled, injecting a note of rivalry into an annual summit that aims for consensus.
The two-day meeting of 21 countries including the United States, Japan and South Korea is the first major international gathering in China since President Xi Jinping came to power.
Starting Monday, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting gives China, the world’s second-largest economy, a platform to assert itself as a regional leader.
“We will reach important consensus” on the launch of the free trade process, said Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a news conference ahead of the gathering.
