China took centre-stage on Monday as Asia-Pacific leaders opened an annual economic summit in the shadow of global growth clouds that are darkening by the day with the US government paralysed by infighting.
The US federal shutdown has stopped President Barack Obama from attending the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on the Indonesian island of Bali, and another summit this week of East Asian leaders in Brunei.
US Secretary of State John Kerry stressed anew Obama's determination to remain engaged with the Pacific Rim region, but his absence has left the arena clear for the leader of one-party China to trumpet the mounting heft of the world's second largest economy.
In a speech to APEC business leaders, President Xi Jinping insisted there was "enough space to sail together" despite territorial disputes in Southeast Asia and tensions with Washington.
"China cannot develop in isolation of the Asia-Pacific and the Asia-Pacific cannot prosper without China," he said, stressing that his country's recent economic slowdown was the intended result of policies designed to put growth on a more sustainable path.
"China will firmly uphold regional peace and stability," Xi added. "Without peace, development is out of the question, like water without a source or a tree without roots."
The communist leader has been touring Southeast Asia, where there is much disquiet about China's territorial ambitions, and also touted the benefits of free trade pacts after securing commercial deals worth tens of billions of dollars in Indonesia and Malaysia.
China is involved in talks on a trade agreement grouping 16 East Asian nations just as Washington's rival "Trans-Pacific Partnership" (TPP) of 12 countries appears to be running into trouble.
While sympathetic to Obama's political plight, the leaders of US allies in APEC such as Singapore expressed disappointment that he had been unable to throw his presidential weight personally behind the TPP and Washington's stop-start "pivot" towards Asia.
Foreign friends and rivals alike, as well as financial markets, are worried by a threat bigger even than the shutdown: the possibility that the US government might default on its colossal debts unless Congress raises the federal borrowing limit by October 17.
An unprecedented default by the holder of the world's reserve currency would affect "the entire planet, and not just those countries with a strong geographical and economic linkage to the US", Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said at an APEC business summit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed similar sentiments to the business leaders gathered in Bali.
"The US dollar is still the biggest reserve currency in the world, so it is of utmost importance to all of us," he said.
But Kerry, taking Obama's place at APEC, said the president's epic tussle with the Republicans was merely "a moment in politics" that did not deflect the United States from its strategic goals.
"I want to emphasise that there is nothing that will shake the commitment of the rebalance to Asia that President Obama is leading," Kerry told the business forum.
The United States is stumbling politically at a moment when, according to a statement by APEC foreign and trade ministers, the world economy can ill afford more instability following the 2008 financial crisis.
Previewing Tuesday's final summit declaration in Bali, the ministers said that "global growth is too weak, risks remain tilted to the downside, and the economic outlook suggests growth is likely to be slower and less balanced than desired".
'Race to the top'
Before he called off his foreign travel, Obama intended to throw his presidential weight behind a top-level round of talks among the TPP countries in Bali on Tuesday.
But doubts about the TPP are gathering pace, and also about Obama's vaunted "pivot".
Attending APEC "would have been a golden opportunity for America and President Obama himself to show leadership in that context of the new emphasis towards Asia", Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said.
Obama was also forced to cancel visits to Malaysia and the Philippines due to the shutdown.
The perennial disputes that hobble all trade agreements, such as market access and protection of intellectual property, are rearing anew in the TPP negotiations and Najib sees the end-of-year deadline as "very tight".
But Kerry said a deal was still achievable in the timeframe, as he sought to sell the merits of the pact.
"At a time when all of us seek strong and sustainable growth, TPP is creating a race to the top, not to the bottom. It is reaching for the highest standards of all," he said in his speech.
AFP
Mon Oct 07 2013
![China grabs limelight as US hobbled at Asia-Pacific summit China grabs limelight as US hobbled at Asia-Pacific summit](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-10/71381157103_295x200.jpg)
10 Berita Pilihan - (16 Julai 2024
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
PAC beri tempoh tiga bulan kepada HRD Corp
Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara (PAC) memberi tempoh tiga bulan kepada Perbadanan Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (HRD Corp) untuk mengemukakan laporan tindakan susulan terhadap syor jawatankuasa itu.
Kylian Mbappe tandatangan kontrak dengan Real Madrid
Bintang bola sepak Perancis Kylian Mbappe menandatangani kontrak selama lima tahun dengan kelab Sepanyol Real Madrid pada Selasa.
Pelepasan ketujuh air sisa nuklear Fukushima ke laut selesai
Jepun telah menyelesaikan pusingan ketujuh pelepasan air sisa radioaktif yang dirawat dari loji kuasa nuklear Fukushima Daiichi ke Lautan Pasifik pada Selasa.
Empat termasuk kapten maut dalam pertempuran
Empat anggota tentera India termasuk kapten meninggal dunia akibat kecederaan selepas pertempuuran pada malam isnin di Hutan Desa.
Pakistan sahkan 4 warganya terbunuh di Oman
Pakistan berkata pada Selasa empat warganya terbunuh dalam insiden tembakan pada malam Isnin berhampiran ibu negara Oman, Muscat.
Lima terbunuh, puluhan cedera dalam protes antikuota di Bangladesh
Sekurang-kurangnya empat orang terbunuh dan puluhan lagi cedera dalam pertempuran antara pelajar yang memprotes sistem kuota dalam pekerjaan sektor awam dan polis di pelbagai bahagian Bangladesh pada Selasa.
Kerajaan cadang perkenal pembiayaan swasta
Kerajaan menyasarkan untuk memperkenalkan pembiayaan swasta alternatif bagi memastikan kemampanan kewangan program sektor air, sekali gus mengurangkan kebergantungan pada perbelanjaan kerajaan dan mengukuhkan daya tahan.
Saya tak fitnah Guan Eng, cuma jelaskan siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin
Presiden Bersatu Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin memberitahu Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini bahawa beliau tidak memfitnah Lim Guan Eng berhubung isu pengecualian cukai terhadap Yayasan Albukhary
KPT alu-alukan dapatan, cadangan PAC - Zambry
Ini termasuklah cadangan pelaksanaan Garis Panduan Pelaburan dan Pembiayaan oleh Universiti Awam 2024 kepada anak-anak syarikat di bawah seliaan Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT).
![Gyeongju, Korea Selatan dipilih sebagai tuan rumah Sidang Kemuncak APEC 2025 Gyeongju, Korea Selatan dipilih sebagai tuan rumah Sidang Kemuncak APEC 2025](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2022-02/81645047921_APECAsiaPacific.jpg)
Gyeongju, Korea Selatan dipilih sebagai tuan rumah Sidang Kemuncak APEC 2025
Jawatankuasa Persediaan untuk Sidang Kemuncak APEC memilih Gyeongju sebagai lokasi untuk sidang kemuncak yang dijadualkan pada November.
![Pertumbuhan ekonomi rantau APEC dijangka cecah 3.4 peratus pada 2024 - Laporan Pertumbuhan ekonomi rantau APEC dijangka cecah 3.4 peratus pada 2024 - Laporan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2022-02/81645047921_APECAsiaPacific.jpg)
Pertumbuhan ekonomi rantau APEC dijangka cecah 3.4 peratus pada 2024 - Laporan
Pertumbuhan ekonomi di negara-negara Kerjasama Ekonomi Asia Pasifik (APEC) dijangka mencecah 3.4 peratus pada 2024 dan perlahan kepada 2.9 peratus pada 2025-2026.
![APEC harus tetapkan gaji minimum - MITI APEC harus tetapkan gaji minimum - MITI](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-05/51716048436_FBCHINTONG.jpg)
APEC harus tetapkan gaji minimum - MITI
Kerjasama Ekonomi Asia Pasifik (APEC) harus secara kolektif mewujudkan penetapan gaji standard untuk mencegah kadar gaji tidak sesuai yang memberi kesan kepada golongan wanita.
![APEC 2024: Mesyuarat pertama ABAC tumpu keresahan akibat pemecahan ekonomi global APEC 2024: Mesyuarat pertama ABAC tumpu keresahan akibat pemecahan ekonomi global](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-02/41708080918_JuliaTorreblanca.jpg)
APEC 2024: Mesyuarat pertama ABAC tumpu keresahan akibat pemecahan ekonomi global
Mesyuarat pertama ABAC 2024 beri tumpuan kepada keresahan yang mendalam berkenaan tekanan daripada pemecahan ekonomi global.
![APEC tidak boleh goyah dalam menyokong kerjasama ekonomi - Tengku Zafrul APEC tidak boleh goyah dalam menyokong kerjasama ekonomi - Tengku Zafrul](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-01/41706532911_Zafrul.jpg)
APEC tidak boleh goyah dalam menyokong kerjasama ekonomi - Tengku Zafrul
Katanya, platform tersebut mesti meningkatkan manfaat perjanjian perdagangan pelbagai hala.
![Dunia perlu agenda perubahan, capai kejayaan bersama - MITI Dunia perlu agenda perubahan, capai kejayaan bersama - MITI](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-08/51693126110_TBLIEWCHINTONG.jpg)
Dunia perlu agenda perubahan, capai kejayaan bersama - MITI
Dunia memerlukan agenda perdagangan baharu yang tidak terikat dengan klise lama.
![APEC 2024: Mesyuarat pertama ABAC tumpu reda tekanan ekonomi serantau APEC 2024: Mesyuarat pertama ABAC tumpu reda tekanan ekonomi serantau](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-02/61707976418_TBLiewChinTong.jpg)
APEC 2024: Mesyuarat pertama ABAC tumpu reda tekanan ekonomi serantau
Mesyuarat tiga hari bermula semalam menjadi platform dialog kepada usaha untuk meredakan tekanan ekonomi yang melanda rantau ini.
![Anwar kutuk Israel depan Joe Biden Anwar kutuk Israel depan Joe Biden](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-11/71700207989_AnwarIbrahim.jpg)
Anwar kutuk Israel depan Joe Biden
Anwar menggunakan setiap ruang yang ada pada pertemuan tersebut untuk membangkitkan isu penindasan berterusan terhadap rakyat Gaza.
![PM Anwar laung seruan selamatkan penduduk Gaza, wakili ekonomi pesat membangun di APEC 2023 PM Anwar laung seruan selamatkan penduduk Gaza, wakili ekonomi pesat membangun di APEC 2023](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-11/41700015584_TBAnwarIbrahim.jpg)
PM Anwar laung seruan selamatkan penduduk Gaza, wakili ekonomi pesat membangun di APEC 2023
Mesej PM di setiap platform mudah dan jelas - pembunuhan dan kekejaman di Gaza perlu dihentikan dan tidak ada pilihan lain lagi.
![Malaysia raih pelaburan bernilai RM63.02 bilion di Amerika Syarikat - Anwar Malaysia raih pelaburan bernilai RM63.02 bilion di Amerika Syarikat - Anwar](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-11/81700298147_AnwarIbrahim.jpg)
Malaysia raih pelaburan bernilai RM63.02 bilion di Amerika Syarikat - Anwar
Malaysia telah meraih pelaburan sebanyak RM63.02 bilion bagi cadangan pelaburan di Amerika Syarikat (AS) terutamanya daripada syarikat gergasi teknologi, kata Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.