U.S., China trade barbs on tariffs at APEC summit
Trudeau caught in middle in fight for world influence
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea — Leaders from the world’s two biggest economies put Canada and its allies in the position of picking sides in the battle for world influence, as the United States and China outlined different visions for trade and investment on Saturday.
The tit-for-tat tough speeches on the first day of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit — bringing together 21 countries that account for 60 per cent of the world’s economy — framed the discussion expected to carry over today when the leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, try to hammer out a final agreement on a path forward for trade.
There are no plans at the moment for Trudeau to have a one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
At a dinner Saturday, Trudeau sat next to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and spoke about a Pacific Rim trade deal, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. Trudeau and Abe will meet again today, where that trade deal — known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP for short — is likely to come up.
The deal was originally designed to act as a counterbalance to China’s growing economic influence in the region. Observers say there is now debate among signatories about whether China should be part of the deal, or the United States should be let back in after President Donald Trump pulled out.
On Saturday, Trudeau met with leaders from the Pacific island nations, and spoke about funding infrastructure resilient to the effects of climate change.
“The opportunity that Canada takes very seriously — to work with you on the very specific challenges facing small island developing states, the importance of capital flows and investments in infrastructure — are things that we are happy to sit down with you about,” Trudeau said.
Baron Waqa, president of Nauru, told Trudeau tsunamis, earthquakes and cyclones have created enormous losses for the economies of smaller island states, while a rising sea level shrinks their territory and increases water salinity that affects their food security.