Multiple international media highlight China taking 'center stage' at APEC

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the first session of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting and delivers a speech titled "Building an Inclusive Open Asia-Pacific Economy for All" in Gyeongju, South Korea, Oct. 31, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

Over the weekend, global media attention was focused on President Xi Jinping's participation in the APEC meeting and his state visit to South Korea, with China's role as a bellwether in defending multilateralism and advancing proposals, including issues like artificial intelligence, at the forefront of their coverage. Media highlighted Beijing's prominent position at the forum with its flurry of bilateral engagements, which experts said underscores an increasingly confident China whose diplomatic influence is visibly on the rise.

President Xi returned to Beijing on Saturday evening after attending the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and concluding his state visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK), Xinhua reported.

The participation of President Xi at more than 10 bilateral and multilateral events during the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and his state visit to South Korea has guided the Asia-Pacific cooperation, demonstrated the responsibility of a major country and consolidated good-neighborly friendship, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while briefing reporters on the conclusion of Xi's trip.

At the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, Xi called for joint efforts to safeguard the multilateral trading system, build an open economic environment in the region, keep industrial and supply chains stable and smooth, advance the digital and green transformation of trade, as well as promote universally beneficial and inclusive development, said Wang.

Xi also announced that China's Shenzhen will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November next year, emphasizing that China is ready to take the opportunity of hosting the event to work with all parties to build together an Asia-Pacific community, said the Chinese foreign minister.

He also noted that Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump had an in-depth exchange of views on major issues concerning the China-US relationship and world peace and development in Busan, where Xi pointed out that the two countries are fully able to help each other succeed and prosper together.

The meeting between the two heads of state in Busan marks a historic moment in China-US relations, Wang said, Xinhua reported.

Global attention

Global media such as CNBC, Reuters and Tass singled out China's proposition on AI during APEC. CNBC reported that President Xi "took center stage at a meeting of APEC leaders on Saturday to push a proposal for a global body to govern artificial intelligence."

Prensa Latina, the official state news agency of Cuba, took note of China's call for close cooperation on AI and a green transition in an article titled "China strengthens ties with AI and green transition in Asia-Pacific."

During this year's APEC meeting, China presented itself as a reliable, trustworthy and friendly major power. As a result, more countries are likely to choose to work with China to address today's unpredictable global turbulence, Woo Su-keun, president of the Korea-China Global Association and head of the Institute of East Asian Studies of Korea, told the Global Times.

Beyond China's stance at the APEC meeting, the flurry of bilateral meetings between China and other countries captured broad international attention.

President Xi on Friday met with prime ministers from Canada, Thailand and Japan on the sidelines of the APEC meeting, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Al Jazeera said that "Xi took center stage" at the two-day APEC leaders' meeting in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, meeting with various leaders.

The trade truce between China and the US ahead of the summit helped to calm global political and economic nerves. During the gathering, a string of bilateral meetings between Chinese leaders and their counterparts reinforced Beijing's image as a steady and dependable partner, offering reassurance to a world buffeted by uncertainty, and underscoring Beijing expanding diplomatic clout, said Lü Chao, president and associate professor at the Institute of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University.

Rekindle ties

Before he returned to Beijing, Xi held talks with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Saturday.

Focusing on the tangible result borne during the bilateral meeting, the Korea Herald said that the two leaders have agreed "to reboot high-level dialogue, turn thaw into economic gains."

An article by AFP asserted that the Chinese and South Korean leaders were rekindling fraught ties. "The visit was the Chinese leader's first since 2014 and comes after years of strained ties over everything from trade to cultural disputes," AFP reported.

South Korea's presidential office assessed the two leaders' meeting had "achieved the full restoration of South Korea-China relations." During their meeting at the Gyeongju National Museum on November 1, the two leaders made significant progress in areas concerning people's livelihoods and the economy, South Korea's Hankyoreh reported on Sunday.

"There had been misunderstandings between the two countries, but it has now become clear to both sides that they need each other," Hwang Jae-ho, director of the Institute for Global Strategy and Cooperation and a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, told the Global Times.

Hwang noted that China and South Korea each play representative roles in their respective spheres, and that by working together, they could serve as an important bridge at both the regional and global levels. "Beijing and Seoul share common views on free trade and multilateralism," he said, adding that "with shared ideas and goals as their bond, the bilateral relationship is poised to enter a more mature and stable phase."

However, an article in The New York Times highlighted Seoul's role during the big power competition between Beijing and Washington. "South Korea, like other Asian nations that have strong ties to China and the US, has found it increasingly difficult to balance relations between them as the rivalry between Washington and Beijing has intensified," it reported on Saturday.

Striking a balance between China and the US - though increasingly difficult - remains both crucial and an ordeal for South Korea. Completely siding with one side or turning hostile toward the other would run counter to Seoul's national interests, as evidenced by the policies of the previous Yoon Suk-yeol administration, said Xiang Haoyu, a distinguished research fellow at the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies at the China Institute of International Studies.

How South Korea demonstrates strategic autonomy and crafts its foreign policy based on national interests, rather than yielding to external pressure, will be key to ensuring the steadiness of its diplomacy in the years ahead, Xiang added.