Leaders from throughout the Asia-Pacific region have spent the past few days making a diplomatic push. They gathered in San Francisco to discuss common goals and common ways to achieve them. On Friday, they wrapped up their annual summit.
US President Joe Biden served as host of this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. He urged leaders to use the "power of the Pacific" to grow the regional economy and to protect the planet from a climate crisis.
Biden said, "We worked together to find ways to build on inclusive, resilient and sustained economies for the Asia-Pacific, and we talked about the progress that requires partnership."
During the summit, Biden hailed a new economic pact with some members of APEC, which does not include China. Partners in the group, called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, agreed to increase capacity to prevent supply-chain disruptions and to collaborate on green energy initiatives.
Still, Chinese President Xi Jinping drew much of the attention. On Wednesday, he was in the spotlight for holding a face-to-face meeting with Biden for the first time in a year.
The leaders agreed to reopen communications between their militaries. However, they left without resolving other thorny issues, including Taiwan.
On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio also talked with Xi. They agreed to revitalize what they call their "strategic relationship." However, it is unclear if their dialogue will advance due to big differences over China's suspension of Japanese seafood imports.
The APEC leaders will have their next meeting in South America. The 2024 conference is scheduled to take place in Peru.