Apec economies are ‘walking a tightrope’ between China, US tensions: report
- Stable relationship between the two powers ‘good for everyone’, the 21-member forum hears on day two of California summit
- The report’s release comes days before the expected meeting on the sidelines of Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden
GDP growth for the 21-member Apec economies is expected to grow by 3.3 per cent this year, up from 2.6 per cent on 2022, and remain in that range in coming years. But projections for the following three years show them lagging behind a compilation of other global economies.
“Apec economic growth is getting more stable than in previous years, we can see that economic growth has improved,” said Carlos Kuriyama, director of Apec’s Singapore-based research arm and co-author of the report.
“There are promising signs in Apec, but it is walking a tightrope amid downside risks,” he said on the second day of the informal, non-binding economic forum’s meeting in San Francisco’s Bay Area.
However, much of the focus is on Wednesday’s expected meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, amid dismal bilateral relations. It will be their second in-person encounter since Biden’s election in 2020 and Xi’s first visit to the US since 2017.
Separately on Sunday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held an introductory meeting with Chinese Finance Minister Lan Foan, where she spoke about her meeting last week with Vice-Premier He Lifeng, according to a short US readout.
