US downplays impact as China, Peru set to update trade pact, open mega port

brussels — 

As China and Peru hole to motion an updated free-trade statement astatine this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping is acceptable to inaugurate a Chinese-financed mega larboard successful Peru, known arsenic Chancay, portion attending the APEC meetings.

China promotes the Chancay larboard connected Latin America's Pacific seashore arsenic a cardinal hub to boost commercialized connectivity with South America. The program includes utilizing infrastructure projects to nexus Chancay, reducing shipping times for goods.

A elder U.S. authoritative downplayed the port’s implications for the United States, stating that it does not complicate U.S. relationships successful the portion and that it is earthy for Latin American countries to person divers commercialized and concern partnerships beyond the U.S.

Matt Murray, the U.S. elder authoritative for APEC, spoke to VOA connected Wednesday from Lima, Peru, outlining the U.S. docket for this year’s APEC meetings.

This interrogation has been edited for brevity and clarity.

VOA: Could you unpack for america the docket of APEC 2024?

Matt Murray, U.S. elder authoritative for APEC: APEC, arsenic you know, is simply a multilateral forum with 21 subordinate economies that relationship for fractional of planetary commercialized and 60% of planetary GDP. Each year, APEC is hosted by a antithetic subordinate economy. The United States was delighted to big successful 2023, and this year, the forum has moved to Peru for 2024.

APEC ever focuses connected 3 cardinal areas: commercialized and investment, innovation and digitalization, and sustainable, strong, secure, inclusive and balanced growth.

Peru has continued these priorities by bringing APEC economies unneurotic to sermon these issues and marque advancement connected circumstantial initiatives, including a renewed absorption connected sustainability.

This year, during the vigor ministerial gathering successful August, Peru launched the Just Energy Transition Initiative wrong APEC. They person besides supported caller programming, focused connected curbing nutrient nonaccomplishment and discarded successful the region, which is important for the sustainability of our cultivation sectors.

VOA: Chinese President Xi Jinping volition motion an updated free-trade statement with Peru and inaugurate a caller mega larboard northbound of Lima, called Chancay. Can you speech astir the implications for the United States?

Murray: I deliberation we expect countries, including APEC economies similar Peru, to prosecute successful commercialized and concern relationships with a assortment of partners, including the People’s Republic of China. As President Xi arrives successful Lima, attraction volition beryllium fixed to areas wherever China has invested successful Peru, arsenic good arsenic the commercialized and concern ties betwixt the 2 countries. However, from the U.S. perspective, our superior absorption is connected our ain narration with Peru and with Latin America, peculiarly successful presumption of trade, concern and broader engagement.

I don’t needfully spot this arsenic complicating our narration successful the region. We presumption it arsenic a earthy portion of concern that Latin American countries volition person divers commercialized and concern partners.

VOA: Given President-elect Donald Trump's stance connected tariffs and the imaginable withdrawal from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, and with respective IPEF members besides portion of APEC, however mightiness the U.S. reassure planetary leaders astir its committedness to deepening economical ties with different nations?

Murray: Since 1989, some Democratic and Republican U.S. administrations person engaged with APEC. We presumption it arsenic an accidental to prosecute a wide scope of partners successful a consensus-based, nonbinding way.

One of the cardinal ways we reassure leaders is simply by showing up. This week, we’re showing up successful a large way. The champion mode to show our committedness to deepening economical ties with the portion is by having the president, caput of authorities and U.S. commercialized typical each travel to Lima to enactment successful APEC Economic Leaders Week. That, I think, demonstrates enactment and our willingness to proceed engaging.

VOA: What does the aboriginal look similar for APEP, oregon Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, an economical inaugural for Latin America, and IPEF?

Murray: I don't deliberation I tin speculate connected the aboriginal of these peculiar arrangements. As you know, this is portion of our democracy. We person administrations successful powerfulness that modulation to caller ones, which whitethorn marque antithetic oregon sometimes akin decisions. There are, successful fact, areas wherever we've seen continuity from the Obama medication to the Trump medication and past to the Biden administration, and determination whitethorn proceed to beryllium specified continuity. So, I don’t deliberation it's imaginable to speculate connected immoderate 1 peculiar issue.