Diplomacy 101: Undiplomatically Speaking
Where Beliefs Clash and Stories Flash
The APEC Divide: Integration with Caveats
This year’s APEC Summit in San Francisco was anything but routine. U.S. President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first in-person bilateral in over a year, striking a cautiously optimistic tone. Agreements on fentanyl precursor tracking, military hotline restoration, and limited tech cooperation were hailed as “confidence-restoring,” though neither side gave ground on trade disputes or Taiwan.
Notably, Vietnam and Indonesia used the summit to pitch a new ASEAN-Pacific infrastructure framework, aimed at drawing blended financing from both U.S. and Chinese sources without locking into either geopolitical camp. The approach—what Jakarta termed “strategic duality”—is becoming an increasingly common posture among middle powers.
However, Canada and Mexico clashed with the U.S. over electric vehicle subsidies, arguing they breach North American trade rules. The squabble, though overshadowed by the larger U.S.-China optics, underscores that regional friction can persist even amid global détente.