APEC Pushes Free Trade

A second summit meeting, that of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group of 21 nations, held in the wake of the G20 meetings that ended Friday saw a similar tone: the current economic policies of the U.S. were not popular with China. Although President Barack Obama tried to prevail upon China’s leader Hu Jintao to introduce changes into the Chinese economy that would allow more imports from the U.S., his efforts were largely unsuccessful. China is wary of slowing its economic growth by taking actions such as those recommended by Obama.

Reuters reported that Hu told APEC members, "Advanced economies have to cope with serious unemployment problems, while emerging market economies are confronted with asset price bubbles and inflationary pressure." He also said that protectionism was on the rise, and that it was a threat to the region because of its dependence on trade.