‘Open, rules-based trade’, rejection of tariff wars focus of APEC summit in wake of Trump election

Anthony Albanese will urge ‘open, inclusive, rules-based trade’, as APEC leaders led by Xi Jinping push back against protectionist-style policies embraced by US president-elect Donald Trump.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Peru's President Dina Boluarte during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit. Picture: Ricardo Cuba/ANDINA/AFP

Anthony Albanese will endorse breaking down tariff walls and “open, inclusive, rules-based trade” as the pathway to global economic prosperity, as APEC leaders led by Xi Jinping push back against protectionist-style policies embraced by US president-elect Donald Trump.

Speaking on the first day of the APEC leaders summit in Lima on Saturday (AEDT), the Prime Minister will champion free and fair trade as the vehicle to lift people out of poverty and raise living standards.

As the Chinese President seeks to rally international support amid fears of a US-China trade war, Mr Albanese will rail against isolationism and promote the benefits of “our interconnected global economy”.

US President Joe Biden, Mr Xi and other APEC leaders arrived in Peru on Friday (AEDT) for the two-day summit, which in the aftermath of Mr Trump’s US election victory will focus heavily on economic development and trade.

Mr Xi’s arrival in Lima, which coincided with the opening of a new Chinese Belt and Road Initiative-funded megaport in Peru, followed Mr Trump’s meeting with Mr Biden at the White House and appointment of prominent China hawks to his incoming administration, including Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Mike Waltz as national security adviser.

Mr Albanese, who has no plans to hold formal talks with Mr Biden at the APEC or G20 summits but is expected to meet with Mr Xi in Brazil, said “we’ll make announcements (about a Xi meeting) at appropriate times”.

China's President Xi Jinping receives military honours next to Peru's President Dina Boluarte upon his arrival at the government palace in Lima, on the sidelines of the APEC summit. Picture: AFP

Mr Xi, who will meet with Mr Biden for the last time in Peru before the pair head to Rio de Janeiro for the G20 summit, is expected to tell leaders there are no winners in a US-China trade or tariff war, and that restrictions or protectionism would disrupt normal trade flows and the stability of global supply chains.

Mr Albanese – who believes Australia will benefit as a renewables-focused, middle-sized power if a Trump administration withdraws from climate action and clean energy – will use a closed session address to promote greater economic collaboration among Asia-Pacific nations. He will urge APEC leaders to work together to “meet this present adversity in a way that builds for our future prosperity”, while ensuring “discussions we have here translate to real benefits”.

“To prove that just as the past 30 years of breaking down tariff walls and building trade bridges has lifted millions of people out of poverty, doubled real GDP and quadrupled per capita income,” Mr Albanese will say.

“Open, inclusive, rules-based trade remains the best course and surest way to grow our economies and lift the living standards of our citizens. And to make it clear that none of us have to choose between deepening our engagement in the region or strengthening our supply chain resilience.

“Robust, rules-based trade enables and encourages us to do both. Because when we invest in our economic and energy security, our industrial base and manufacturing capacity, we are investing in diversifying our economy and our exports.”

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Peru Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen upon arrival in Lima, Peru, for the APEC summit. Picture: AFP

Mr Albanese on Saturday (AEDT) will participate in the APEC leaders informal dialogue, meet with APEC Business Advisory Council leaders and hold talks with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. The Prime Minister and fiancee Jodie Haydon will also attend the APEC leaders gala dinner at the presidential palace hosted by Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.

Asked if Mr Trump’s trade tariffs could mean that countries become more reliant on China, Mr Albanese said “we’ll wait and see what the impact is”.

“I don’t want to pre-empt action for a government that isn’t in place yet. But obviously there’ll be some consideration. Because the United States represents a quarter of the global economy, the impact that they have is disproportionate accordingly,” he said.

New Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, sitting alongside Mr Albanese ahead of their first bilateral meeting as leaders in Lima, said he was focused on “some sort of management with the Chinese to de-escalate and lower the temperature”.

Mr Albanese and Mr Prabowo, who had flown in from the US after meeting Mr Biden at the White House and speaking with Mr Trump on the phone, discussed the US election aftermath, regional implications and security risks, including people-smugglers.

“He (Prabowo) had a phone conversation with President Trump as I did last week. We discussed that and what it might mean for the world. Obviously, that’s part of the backdrop of APEC and the G20 … what the impact of a change in US administration will have,” Mr Albanese said.

“President Prabowo has visited both Beijing and Washington in the early period of his presidency and he is looking, like other nations in that part of the world, around the South China Sea … to ensure that there is peace, stability and security there.”

Anthony Albanese and Prabowo Subianto meet for the first time since his inauguration as President of Indonesia on the APEC summit sidelines in Peru.

With China drafting more middle-tier countries into its orbit via BRI project funding, Mr Albanese said the “rise of China as an economic power is a fact … it’s not theoretical”.

“Increasingly, population will be a driver of economic growth. And that’s why countries in our region, such as China, but also Indonesia, India and other nations, will have considerable economic growth in the future, and that’s why Australia’s well positioned as a country that is located in the fastest-growing region in the world.”

As foreign leaders scramble to speak with and meet Mr Trump in person, Mr Albanese confirmed he would not make a stopover in the US following the G20 summit in Brazil. Mr Prabowo, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman are among world leaders requesting in-person meetings with Mr Trump ahead of or following the G20 summit.

“I’ll have a meeting with President Trump when it is organised. We spoke about gathering and I’m sure that will occur,” Mr Albanese said.

“I intend to be (back in Australia) in parliament next Thursday when our parliament is sitting. But we’ve had a very constructive beginning to our relationship with a very constructive phone call, and it was very positive.”

Despite growing internal concerns over Kevin Rudd’s prospects of continuing long-term as Australia’s ambassador to the US, Mr Albanese backed the former prime minister.

Prominent Trump insiders, including incoming deputy chief-of-staff and close adviser Dan Scavino, have fuelled questions over Dr Rudd’s ability to work with a Trump administration following revelations the former Labor leader made a series of historic comments attacking the president-elect.

Mr Albanese said: “Ambassador Rudd is doing a good job and that’s been recognised across the political spectrum in Australia, from Tony Abbott to Malcolm Turnbull to Peter Dutton and obviously to the Australian government.”

Using the APEC and G20 summits to spruik Labor’s Future Made in Australia policy, Mr Albanese said Australia could potentially “benefit” if Mr Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which is directing significant clean-energy capital into the US, is wound back.

“If those incentives aren’t there, then that has implications for the nature of the global economy. We don’t pre-empt that. Governments, when they come in, can’t instantly make changes. But certainly, we see that Australia has great opportunity through climate action.”

In his APEC speech, Mr Albanese will warn of the far-reaching economic consequences alongside the “devastating human toll of conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East”.

“Because, as we all understand, in every region of the world, peace, security and stability are not the dividends of prosperity, they are the foundation for it.

“This is one of the reasons Australia stands with the international community in calling for a de-escalation of violence in the Middle East. And in condemning Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, including the new military support they are receiving from North Korea.”