Most Asia-Pacific countries want and are heading in the direction of free and open trade, a senior official at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) secretariat said, as U. President Donald Trump's tariffs overshadowed the forum's annual summit.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who took office in June, is in the spotlight as counterparts including U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi converge in his country. Follow the flurry of diplomacy over the coming days with Nikkei Asia.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday the Asia-Pacific region was at a critical inflection point with a rapidly changing global economic order, as he chaired a leaders' summit in the city of Gyeongju.

US tech giant Nvidia said on Friday it will supply 260,000 of its most cutting-edge chips to South Korea, as CEO Jensen Huang met President Lee Jae Myung and the heads of Korea's biggest companies on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

12:05 p.m. One of the most closely watched meetings on the margins of APEC is likely to be a Trump face-off with China's Xi. The White House has said they will meet Thursday morning, although the Chinese side has yet to confirm this. Negotiators from both countries spent last weekend hammering out a "framework" for the leaders to discuss.

Kim Namjoon also mentioned many other important points in his speech. As an artist, BTS' RM urged the guests at the APEC CEO Summit to help creators and artists around them. He requested them to offer financial help to emerging artists so that their creativity can bloom. He added that this will eventually lead to the growth of culture and economy.

The authorities have been scrambling to accommodate this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum at Gyeongju, which is known for tombs, temples and pagodas.

Leaders from 21 Pacific Rim economies will gather this week in Gyeongju, South Korea, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, forum. Meetings began Monday and will run through Saturday, though talks are expected to be overshadowed by U.