By Ambassador Gurjit Singh

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, held from 13-15 November, returned to Peru after eight years. Given that APEC has 21 member economies, Peru has hosted the summit frequently: in 2008, 2016 and now in 2024. The theme was ‘Empower. Include. Grow.’ It’s an essential call for a region with stalled economic integration, growing protectionism, geo-political tensions and restricted growth prospects.

The APEC Leaders endorsed the consensus Machu Picchu Declaration,[1] pursuing efforts to achieve robust economic growth. The Lima Roadmap to Promote the Transition to the Formal and Global Economies (2025-2040) and Ichma Statement on A New Look at the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific Agenda, were adopted alongside. The Declaration had a companion Chair’s Statement, manifesting discussion on the Ukraine and other crises.

Just Energy Transition Initiative, Achieving Food Security Through Sustainable Agri-food Systems, Agricultural Biotechnology, Combatting Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and illegal logging and facilitation of remanufactured consumer electronic goods, were among the ideas agreed upon.

Will this word salad of resolutions have meaningful implementation or impact? It’s not clear it will. However, some dimensions of the meeting deserve attention. First, with this summit, Peru has brought itself into the international limelight. Contiguity and advance planning with Brazil, which hosted the G20 summit on November 18-19 immediately following APEC, meant that nine G20 leaders could attend both. With the number of global summits growing, their proximity to each other in location and dates helps maximize attendance.

Second, Peru attracted many leaders. Most eyes were on Xi Jinping of China, who came ready to cut the ribbon on his $3.6 billion investment in the Chancay Port, on the Pacific coast of Peru. This is one of China’s largest investments in Latin America and is causing concern in the U.S., which does not like seeing China getting too deep in the Pacific. But Peru then facilitated China by announcing that Beijing would host the 2026 APEC summit.

Unlike the G20, APEC Summits hosts aren’t selected by rotation but rather, countries seek a convenient year. China last hosted in 2014, and, it seems, has bypassed processes thanks to Peru, to be........

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