President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung as he receives a gift of a gold crown and an award of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, not seen, during a high honor ceremony at the Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Wednesday. (AP photo)

GYEONGJU, South Korea — Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Asia-Pacific leaders on Friday that his country would help to defend global free trade at an annual economic regional forum snubbed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Xi took center stage at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that began Friday in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, as Trump left the country a day earlier after reaching deals with Xi meant to ease their escalating trade war.

This year’s two-day APEC summit has been heavily overshadowed by the Trump-Xi meeting that was arranged on the sidelines.

Trump described his Thursday meeting with Xi as a roaring success, saying he would cut tariffs on China, while Beijing had agreed to allow the export of rare earth elements and start buying American soybeans. Their deals were a relief to a world economy rattled by trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Trump’s decision to skip APEC fits with his well-known disdain for big, multi-nation forums that have been traditionally used to address global problems. But his blunt dismissal of APEC risks worsening America’s reputation at a forum that represents nearly 40% of the world’s population and more than half of global goods trade.

Xi defends cooperation

“The more turbulent the times, the more we must work together,” Xi said during APEC’s opening session. “The world is undergoing a period of rapid change, with the international situation becoming increasingly complex and volatile.”

Xi called for maintaining supply chain stability, in a riposte to U.S. efforts to decouple its supply chains from China. He also expressed hopes to work with other countries to expand cooperation in green industries and clean energy.

In written remarks sent to a CEO summit held in conjunction with APEC, Xi said China was open for investment and would uphold the multilateral trading system.

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, who attended the summit on Trump’s behalf, said a U.S. move to rebalance its trade relationships would ensure that “each country operates on fair and reciprocal terms.” He added that the U.S. is “investing with its trading partners to build resilient production networks that reduce dependence on vulnerable sectors.”

Other leaders

It’s Xi’s first visit to South Korea in 11 years.

On the sidelines of the summit, Xi had bilateral meetings with new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday.

In his meeting with Takaichi, Xi said he hopes the two countries would commit to building a constructive and stable relationship “fit for the new era.” Takaichi expressed hopes to ease what she called “a variety of” challenges facing the two countries. She said she also hopes to deepen her personal relationship with Xi.

Today, Xi is to meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for another one-on-one meeting expected to touch on North Korea’s nuclear program.

Facing challenges

Established in 1989 during a period of increased globalization, APEC champions free and open trade and investment to accelerate regional economic integration. But the APEC region now faces challenges like strategic competitions between the U.S. and China, supply chain vulnerabilities, aging populations and the impact of AI on jobs. The U.S. strategy has been shifted to economic competitions with China rather than cooperation, with Trump’s tariff hikes and “America first” agenda shaking markets and threatening decades of globalization and multinationalism.

Leaders and other representatives from 21 Asia-Pacific Rim economies are attending the APEC meeting to discuss how to promote economic cooperation and tackle shared challenges. Opening the summit as chair, Lee called for greater cooperation and solidarity.