{"id":2863,"date":"2025-11-01T22:28:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T22:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2863"},"modified":"2025-11-01T22:28:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T22:28:11","slug":"xi-fills-the-trade-vacuum-in-trumps-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2863","title":{"rendered":"Xi Fills the Trade Vacuum in Trump&#8217;s Absence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at <strong>China<\/strong>\u2019s trade goals at this year\u2019s <strong>APEC summit<\/strong>, potential <strong>U.S. <\/strong>military strikes on <strong>Venezuela<\/strong>, and allegations of <strong>Russia<\/strong> using a banned cruise missile against <strong>Ukraine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Fighting for the Limelight<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/apec-south-korea-trump-xi-983929607a2099d204173b6dd8690935\">fill the vacuum<\/a> left on Friday by U.S. President Donald Trump, after the latter snubbed the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea. With Trump back in Washington to host the White House\u2019s annual Halloween party, Xi hoped to portray Beijing as the leading global champion of free and open trade\u2014taking on a role that has long been dominated by the United States.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at <strong>China<\/strong>\u2019s trade goals at this year\u2019s <strong>APEC summit<\/strong>, potential <strong>U.S. <\/strong>military strikes on <strong>Venezuela<\/strong>, and allegations of <strong>Russia<\/strong> using a banned cruise missile against <strong>Ukraine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Fighting for the Limelight<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/apec-south-korea-trump-xi-983929607a2099d204173b6dd8690935\">fill the vacuum<\/a> left on Friday by U.S. President Donald Trump, after the latter snubbed the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea. With Trump back in Washington to host the White House\u2019s annual Halloween party, Xi hoped to portray Beijing as the leading global champion of free and open trade\u2014taking on a role that has long been dominated by the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The APEC summit came one day after Xi signed a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/30\/trump-xi-deal-soybeans-tariffs-rare-earths-taiwan-trade\/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">framework trade agreement<\/a> with Trump that temporarily lowers U.S. tariffs on most Chinese goods in exchange for a one-year suspension on some Chinese rare-earth export controls and a pledge to purchase more U.S. soybeans, among other promises. However, that deal revealed that \u201cthe United States is more dependent on Chinese goodwill than vice versa,\u201d FP\u2019s James Palmer <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/30\/trump-xi-meeting-summit-trade-truce-us-china\/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">wrote<\/a>\u2014a fact that Xi may use as leverage with his fellow APEC members.<\/p>\n<p>Standing before the 21-member bloc\u2019s leading figures on Friday, Xi called for political unity and greater economic cooperation. \u201cChanges unseen in a century are accelerating across the world,\u201d Xi <a href=\"https:\/\/english.www.gov.cn\/news\/202510\/31\/content_WS69044eafc6d00ca5f9a0735f.html\">said<\/a>. \u201cThe rougher the seas, the more we must pull together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To do this, the Chinese president\u2019s Friday agenda included <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/xi-meet-canadian-japanese-leaders-after-trump-trade-truce-2025-10-31\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=103125&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">high-level talks<\/a> with the leaders of three Asia-Pacific powerhouses in an effort to bolster bilateral trade with some of the very countries that Trump\u2019s trade war has hit hardest.<\/p>\n<p>First came talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Both Xi and Takaichi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-10-31\/xi-and-takaichi-set-to-meet-friday-to-talk-rare-earths-security\">expressed desire<\/a> to advance ties, but analysts warned that this may prove challenging for Beijing, as Tokyo\u2019s newly elected premier has a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/21\/japan-sanae-takaichi-female-prime-minister-ldp-innovation-komeito\/\">more nationalistic and hawkish stance<\/a> than her predecessor. One of Takaichi\u2019s first acts since taking office last week was to order an accelerated military buildup to deter China\u2019s territorial ambitions in East Asia.<\/p>\n<p>After Takaichi, Xi met separately with Canadian Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/china-canada-xi-carney-apec-ace80262b0e54460f6994bf48322abed\">Mark Carney<\/a> and Thai Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fmprc.gov.cn\/eng\/xw\/zyxw\/202511\/t20251101_11745262.html\">Anutin Charnvirakul<\/a>. Experts suggest that improving bilateral relations may be easier with these two nations, as both are seeking aid from China to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/china\/canada-pm-mark-carney-china-xi-trump-trade-ddebede1?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqeHjz71U0VAPEbyUrCHVSvMhw1NnyPEKrIc-INX_qyS7PSh-wqotMUUEy5mvng%3D&amp;gaa_ts=6905005d&amp;gaa_sig=l2-wuiXMIE8NaCi78rt2q8Ao62y-SkcMlxYt3aTAEhJJRUihmzc4vC9CcTfwDPQS5QOkCqI3-KVxVrB8eb2zug%3D%3D\">combat Trump\u2019s trade war<\/a>. Specifically, Carney has pledged to double Ottawa\u2019s non-U.S. exports over the next decade to diversify its economy and reduce its reliance on Washington. And Anutin has sought to expedite progress on a rail line connecting China to Thailand as well as efforts to jointly combat border security threats.<\/p>\n<p>Xi is expected to continue courting APEC\u2019s biggest members on Saturday, when he is set to discuss denuclearization efforts on the Korean Peninsula with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s obvious that we can\u2019t always stand on the same side, as our national interests are at stake,\u201d Lee said ahead of the meeting, \u201cbut we can join together for the ultimate goal of shared prosperity.\u201d He added that he hopes he and Xi and can hold \u201ccandid and constructive discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What We\u2019re Following<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Looming U.S. strikes? <\/strong>Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/trump-says-he-is-not-considering-strikes-within-venezuela-2025-10-31\/\">denied<\/a> reports on Friday that the U.S. military is planning to attack military installations in Venezuela that the White House has claimed are being used by drug trafficking organizations under Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s command.<\/p>\n<p>Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/15\/us\/politics\/trump-covert-cia-action-venezuela.html\">said<\/a> earlier this month that he was considering land strikes inside Venezuela as part of his administration\u2019s efforts to combat the deadly fentanyl crisis as well as immigration. However, the vast majority of the fentanyl that comes into the United States is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/10\/09\/world\/americas\/drug-trafficking-venezuela.html\">produced in Mexico<\/a> with <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/07\/10\/china-fentanyl-crisis-america-mexico-api-manufacture-banking\/\">Chinese-supplied ingredients<\/a>, not in Venezuela. Most cocaine is also produced in and smuggled through other Latin American countries.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s denial came after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/americas\/u-s-eyes-striking-venezuelan-military-targets-used-for-drug-trafficking-cafcfe47?st=tchg4R\">several news outlets<\/a> reported that U.S. attacks on Venezuela could happen in the coming days. If that occurs, such an assault would mark a major escalation in Trump\u2019s drug war after weeks of <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/23\/us-boat-strikes-pacific-caribbean-venezuela-trump-drug-war-maduro\/\">deadly U.S. strikes<\/a> on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean as well as a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/04\/venezuela-naval-deployment-drug-cartels\/\">U.S. military buildup<\/a> in the region.<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear whether Maduro himself would be directly targeted. Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reward-offer-increase-of-up-to-50-million-for-information-leading-to-arrest-and-or-conviction-of-nicolas-maduro\">doubled the reward<\/a> for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the Venezuelan president, and U.S. officials have repeatedly hinted at efforts to enact <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/03\/trump-usa-venezuela-regime-change-maduro-cartels\/\">regime change<\/a> in the South American nation. \u201cMaduro is about to find himself trapped and might soon discover that he cannot flee the country even if he decided to,\u201d one source told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/nation-world\/world\/americas\/venezuela\/article312722642.html\"><em>Miami Herald<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Moscow\u2019s long-range capabilities. <\/strong>Russian forces have used a banned cruise missile in combat against Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/russia-uses-missile-ukraine-that-led-trump-quit-nuclear-treaty-kyiv-says-2025-10-31\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=103125&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">Reuters<\/a> on Friday. The weapon in question is the <a href=\"https:\/\/missilethreat.csis.org\/missile\/ssc-8-novator-9m729\/\">9M729<\/a>, a ground-launched, secretly developed missile that can carry a nuclear or conventional warhead up to 2,500 kilometers (about 1,550 miles). Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/defence\/kremlin-refers-questions-to-defence-ministry-on-russian-9m729-missiles-strikes-on-ukraine\/articleshow\/124993077.cms?from=mdr\">deferred all questions<\/a> regarding Sybiha\u2019s statement on Friday to the Russian Defense Ministry, adding that Moscow has previously \u201crefuted all these claims very convincingly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Development of the 9M729 has a controversial history. In 2019, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2019\/08\/02\/what-does-the-demise-of-the-i-n-f-treaty-mean-for-nuclear-arms-control-intermediate-nuclear-forces-new-start-strategic-arms-limitation-nonproliferation-trump-russia-arms-control-explained\/\">withdrew<\/a> the United States from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty over its creation, arguing that the missile was in breach of the treaty, as it could fly beyond the agreement\u2019s 500-kilometer limit. According to a senior Ukrainian official, Moscow launched the 9M729 twice in 2022\u2014and 23 times since Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/18\/trump-putin-summit-alaska-russia-ukraine-how-disastrous\/\">hosted<\/a> Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRussia\u2019s use of the INF-banned 9M729 against Ukraine in the past months demonstrates Putin\u2019s disrespect to the United States and President Trump\u2019s diplomatic efforts to end Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine,\u201d Sybiha said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fight over conscription. <\/strong>Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/tens-of-thousands-crowd-jerusalem-in-ultra-orthodox-display-of-force-against-idf-draft\/\">took to the streets<\/a> in Jerusalem on Thursday to protest a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/world\/tens-of-thousands-of-ultra-orthodox-jews-protest-israeli-military-draft-in-jerusalem\">planned Knesset meeting<\/a> to discuss ending a decades-old policy that allows ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students to be exempt from military conscription. Under Israeli law, most citizens are required to serve at least two years, starting at age 18.<\/p>\n<p>Last June, Israel\u2019s Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/25\/world\/middleeast\/israel-military-ultra-orthodox-jews-supreme-court.html\">unanimously ruled<\/a> that there was no legal basis for <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/07\/10\/military-draft-conscription-soldiers-technology-nato-europe-russia-ukraine\/\">ultra-Orthodox conscription exemptions<\/a>. \u201cThese days, in the midst of a difficult war, the burden of that inequality is more acute than ever\u2014and requires the advancement of a sustainable solution to this issue,\u201d the court said in its ruling, referring to Israel\u2019s war in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>The decision <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/15\/israel-utj-netanyahu-ultra-orthodox-conscription-bill-coalition-gaza-ceasefire\/\">threatened to split<\/a> Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s fragile ruling coalition, in which the premier\u2019s right-wing Likud party is reliant on several far-right, ultra-Orthodox groups to remain in power.<\/p>\n<p>To compensate, the Israeli government\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/30\/world\/middleeast\/israel-ultra-orthodox-demonstration-military-draft.html\">conscription proposal<\/a> would offer low quotas for enlistment and minimal, delayed sanctions on those who fail to comply. Still, that has failed to satisfy Israel\u2019s ultra-Orthodox community, whose members maintain that their enlistment should not be forced. This, in turn, could require Netanyahu to hold early elections before they are scheduled to occur next November.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What in the World?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Protests in Tanzania continued for a third day on Friday. What prompted the demonstrations?<\/p>\n<p>A. Daily electricity blackouts in the country\u2019s largest city, Dar es Salaam<br \/>B. This week\u2019s elections, which the opposition deemed undemocratic<br \/>C. An unpopular law that would reduce gas subsidies starting in 2026<br \/>D. Plans to accept deportees from the United States<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Odds and Ends<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Last weekend, a 77-year-old French cyclist lost control of his bike while on his way home from the supermarket, falling into a 130-foot ravine in the mountainous C\u00e9vennes region. It took three days for local road workers to finally hear his cries for help and rescue him. During that time, the man survived by drinking the bottles of red wine that he had just purchased. According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/entrevue.fr\/en\/societe\/lozere-un-cycliste-de-77-ans-survit-trois-jours-dans-un-ravin\/\">local French outlet<\/a>, the cyclist escaped with just minor injuries and mild hypothermia. Cheers to his rescue!<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>And the Answer Is\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>B. This week\u2019s elections, which the opposition deemed undemocratic<\/p>\n<p>Demonstrators are angry with rising authoritarianism, which has culminated in President Samia Suluhu Hassan\u2019s repression of opposition rivals, FP\u2019s Nosmot Gbadamosi <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/29\/tanzania-unfree-election-cameroon-ivory-coast-protest-sudan-conflict\/\">reports<\/a> in this week\u2019s Africa Brief.<\/p>\n<p>To take the rest of FP\u2019s weekly international news quiz, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/31\/news-quiz-hurricane-melissa-asia-summits-argentina-cameroon-tanzania-us-troops\/\">click here<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/alerts\/\">sign up<\/a> to be alerted when a new one is published.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/31\/xi-jinping-apec-trump-trade-takaichi-carney-south-korea\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at China\u2019s trade goals at this year\u2019s APEC summit, potential U.S. military strikes on Venezuela, and allegations of Russia using a banned cruise missile against Ukraine. Fighting for the Limelight Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to fill the vacuum left on Friday by U.S. President Donald Trump, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2863","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}