Gyeongju, South Korea, has been the epicenter of high-stakes diplomacy this past week, as leaders from across the Asia-Pacific gathered for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The event, held on October 31 and November 1, 2025, was marked by a flurry of negotiations, ceremonial gestures, and strategic maneuvering among the world’s most influential economies. At the heart of the summit were efforts to address escalating trade tensions, the ever-evolving role of artificial intelligence, and the perennial challenge posed by North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung seized the opportunity to host, orchestrating a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings designed to showcase South Korea’s diplomatic acumen. One of the most closely watched encounters came on November 1, when President Lee sat down with Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the Associated Press, Lee pressed Xi to “make greater efforts to persuade North Korea to return to talks,” outlining his strategy for achieving denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and requesting a “constructive Chinese role to help realize the resumption of talks with North Korea.”
Xi, for his part, responded that he would “continue his efforts to help resolve issues involving the Korean Peninsula and promote peace and stability here,” as reported by Wi Sung-lac, Lee’s national security director. While Chinese state media did not immediately mention North Korea in their coverage of the meeting, Beijing’s influence as Pyongyang’s main ally and economic lifeline remains pivotal—even as questions linger about the true extent of its leverage.
Pyongyang, however, was quick to express its displeasure. North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong Ho dismissed South Korea’s push for denuclearization as “its daydream,” underscoring the considerable obstacles that remain on the path to peace. Meanwhile, President Lee, a known advocate for reconciliation, pledged to take “more active preemptive steps” to lower military tensions, emphasizing that peace on the peninsula is essential for the prosperity of the entire Asia-Pacific region.
Economic issues were no less prominent. On the sidelines of the summit, South Korea and China inked several agreements aimed at deepening their bilateral relationship. These included new measures to jointly combat online scams, an expansion of their free trade deal, and the renewal of a currency swap arrangement that had lapsed in October 2025. Such steps, Lee’s office noted, are designed to fortify economic ties at a time when global supply chains and multilateral trade agreements are under unprecedented strain.
Trade was also top of mind for U.S. President Donald Trump, who arrived in Gyeongju amid ongoing negotiations with South Korea over a potential $350 billion investment in the American economy. The talks, which advanced on October 29, revolved around cooperation in shipbuilding and a significant reduction in U.S. tariffs on South Korean automobile exports—from a punishing 25% to a more manageable 15%. According to Kim Yong-beom, Lee’s chief of staff for policy, both sides agreed to maintain reciprocal tariffs at 15%, a move designed to level the playing field for South Korean automakers like Hyundai and Kia, which have faced stiff competition from Japanese and European rivals.
Despite the progress, no final agreement was signed during Trump’s visit, and South Korean officials were quick to point out that negotiations on the structure of investments and profit distribution were ongoing. As Oh Hyunjoo, a deputy national security director for South Korea, explained, “We haven’t yet been able to reach an agreement on matters such as the structure of investments, their formats and how the profits will be distributed.” The South Korean side has expressed a preference for loans and loan guarantees over direct cash infusions, wary of destabilizing their own economy.
Trump, ever the showman, was feted with the Grand Order of Mugunghwa—South Korea’s highest honor—and a replica of a royal crown from the ancient Silla Kingdom. The president, clearly delighted, remarked, “It’s as beautiful as it can possibly be. I’d like to wear it right now.” The ceremonial flourishes extended to a lunch featuring U.S.-raised beef and a gold-adorned brownie, and a welcoming band playing Trump’s campaign anthem, “Y.M.C.A.” Lee, eager to flatter his American counterpart, told Trump, “You are indeed making America great again.”
Yet beneath the pageantry, tensions simmered. The memory of a U.S. immigration raid on a Hyundai plant in Georgia in September 2025, which resulted in the detention of over 300 South Koreans, cast a shadow over the proceedings. Lee warned that unless the U.S. visa system improved, South Korean companies would be reluctant to invest further in American manufacturing. Trump, for his part, said, “I was opposed to getting them out,” and suggested that a better visa system would make it easier for companies to bring in skilled workers.
Amid these bilateral discussions, the broader APEC summit pressed on with its agenda. Leaders from across the region issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to robust trade and investment as the bedrock of Asia-Pacific prosperity. The declaration acknowledged that the global trading system “continues to face significant challenge,” but stopped short of explicitly endorsing “free and open trade”—a nod to the shifting stance of the United States under Trump’s administration.
Jeonghun Min, a professor at South Korea’s National Diplomatic Academy, observed that while the statement avoided direct language supporting free trade, it nonetheless underscored economic cooperation and multilateralism, which remain at the core of APEC’s mission. The summit’s joint declaration also reiterated support for the Putrajaya Vision 2040, a blueprint adopted in 2020 that calls for a trade environment that is “free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable.”
Artificial intelligence emerged as another key theme. Xi Jinping urged Asia-Pacific nations to “promote the sound and orderly development” of AI, proposing the creation of a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. The U.S., which has pulled back from multilateral approaches to AI regulation, is unlikely to join such an initiative. Still, APEC leaders issued a statement calling for a coordinated approach to the opportunities and challenges posed by AI, which they described as a potential economic catalyst that also brings significant risks.
Demographic shifts also featured in the summit’s discussions. With many economies in the region grappling with declining birth rates, aging populations, and rapid urbanization, leaders urged greater cooperation to address these mounting challenges.
As the summit drew to a close, the mood was one of cautious optimism. The Asia-Pacific remains a region of both promise and peril, where economic integration, technological innovation, and geopolitical rivalry are in constant interplay. The agreements and statements forged in Gyeongju may not have resolved every dispute, but they offered a roadmap for continued dialogue—and, perhaps, a glimmer of hope for a more stable, prosperous future.
