Xi Arrives In Thailand Ahead Of APEC Summit, With Biden, Putin Absent

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in the Thai capital Bangkok ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' meeting that gets underway tomorrow, Friday 18 November, running until 19 Nov. Following the flurry of diplomatic activity at the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, the APEC summit brings together 21 economies from around the Pacific Rim, including China, Japan, Russia, and the US.

• On arrival, China's Xi in a written speech stated that, "Asia-Pacific is no one's backyard and should not become and arena for big power contest".
• Notably, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are both absent from the summit, leaving Xi as the sole global power head of gov't represented. This will allow Xi to avoid a potentially awkward meeting with the Western pariah leader Putin so swiftly after seemingly engaging cordially with Biden and other Western leaders at the G20. US VP Kamala Harris will be in attendance, but will lack the diplomatic clout of President Biden.
• It will also allow Xi to present China as the most engaged nation in the Pacific Rim. Sideline meetings with Philippine President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. and New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern planned.