China’s Xi Jinping and Japan’s Fumio Kishida to hold first face-to-face talks
Chinese President Xi Jinping making a speech at the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Beijing, capital of China. The session was held in Beijing from Nov. 8 to 11.
Ju Peng | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
China’s foreign ministry said the two will exchange views on China-Japan relations, as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest.
“China and Japan are close neighbors and important countries in the region … The two sides need to respond to the trend of the times, stay committed to peace and friendship, expand mutually-beneficial cooperation, manage differences well, and work together to build a China-Japan relationship that meets the call of the new era,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Wednesday.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also expects to meet Xi on the sidelines of the forum, Reuters reported, citing a government spokesperson.
— Lee Ying Shan
Saudi-Thai cooperation on food and energy ‘a good sign,’ says APEC executive director
Saudi Arabia’s commitment to energy investments in Thailand is a “good sign” for diplomatic relations between the two counties, APEC executive director Kasemsit Pathomsak told CNBC’s Sri Jegarajah.
In May, state-backed Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding with Thailand’s national oil company in efforts to strengthen energy cooperation with Thailand and boost its presence in the region. In the same month, the Saudi Arabian Investment Fund said it would use Thailand as a hub for investment in Southeast Asia.
“It’s a good sign… to certainly reconnect at a time when both economies are sizable enough and there are a lot of synergies here to be had,” said Pathomsak, pointing to food and energy as areas for potential cooperation.
The deals suggest further thawing of relations after the 30-year “Blue Diamond Affair,” which involved theft of Saudi jewels and the deaths of Saudi diplomats in Thailand. In January, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha became the first Thai head of government to visit the kingdom since the dispute.
— Lee Ying Shan
Cambodia’s Hun Sen tests positive for Covid, won’t attend APEC
Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia
Ahn Young-Joon | AFP | Getty Images
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen tested positive for Covid early this week and won’t be joining the APEC summit in Bangkok.
The Cambodian leader announced Tuesday that he tested positive for Covid and had to cancel his meetings at Indonesia’s G-20 summit to return home early.
— Lee Ying Shan
Biden to miss summit; Vice President Kamala Harris to represent U.S.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff (L) depart Joint Base Andrews en route to Thailand for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Nov. 16, 2022.
Haiyun Jiang | AFP | Getty Images
U.S. President Joe Biden will not be attending the APEC leaders’ meeting in Bangkok as he will be attending his granddaughter’s wedding. Instead, Vice President Kamala Harris will represent the U.S.
“The Vice President will engage with Thai leaders and civil society representatives to reaffirm and strengthen the U.S.-Thai Alliance and to discuss our cooperation across a range of issues,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in an October statement.
Earlier this week, Biden attended the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, where leaders of major economies discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis, supply chain disruptions as well as energy and food security.
— Lee Ying Shan
