Overview
- Leaders endorsed economic cooperation and resilience in the Gyeongju Declaration, which omitted direct references to the WTO or multilateralism.
- Two outcome documents committed members to cooperate on artificial intelligence governance and demographic challenges such as aging and low birth rates.
- Trump and Xi agreed on a trade de-escalation reported to include tariff relief, resumed U.S. soybean purchases, fentanyl curbs and a pause on rare-earth measures, with terms described as provisional.
- China assumed the APEC chairmanship, with Xi naming Shenzhen as the 2026 host and casting Beijing as a defender of open trade and supply-chain stability.
- South Korea’s Lee Jae Myung sought Chinese help to restart talks with North Korea, with Seoul saying Xi pledged continued efforts to support peninsula stability.