APEC Leaders Issue Statement; Harris: No Better Partner For APEC Than US

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group has issued a broad joint ministerial statement following the leaders' summit in the Thai capital Bangkok.

• Link to statement: https://www.apec.org/meeting-papers/annual-ministe...
• Delivering her keynote speech to the summit, US Vice President Kamala Harris stated that “The United States has an enduring economic commitment to the Indo-Pacific... And there is no better economic partner for this region than the United States of America".
• Despite Harris' comments, the attendance of Chinese President Xi Jinping made US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin notable by their absence.
• In contrast to the broad global G20 summit, where at least half of the attendees are staunch US allies, the APEC summit encompassing Pacific Rim nations is seen as more of a geopolitical chessboard, with the US and China both seeking to expand their sphere of influence in the region.
• As was the case at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia earlier this week, the APEC summit offered condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but with caveats, stating that, "We reiterated our positions [...] which [...] deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine [...] Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine [...] There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions...."