TORONTO – The handshake between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and American President Joe Biden undoubtedly remains the only real news of the “Apec” (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit held in San Francisco in recent days, because “tutto il resto” (“everything else”), as the Italian singer-songwriter Franco Califano sang, “è noia” (“it’s boredom”), at least on the Canadian front. It’s clear from the press release issued by the Canadian Prime Minister’s office, regarding the meetings that Justin Trudeau himself had during the forum.
“At this year’s Apec leaders’ meeting – reads the statement – Canada deepened ties with the entire region to ensure growth for the populations on both sides of the Pacific. Almost a year after the launch of the Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, the meeting was an important forum to deepen Canada’s collaboration with regional economies on supply chain resilience, sustainable and inclusive economic growth, digital trade and economic security.” And then: “During the Apec leaders’ meeting, the Prime Minister positioned Canada as a reliable trading partner and a privileged destination for investments, including in agriculture, clean energy and artificial intelligence (AI). On the sidelines of the “At the meeting, the Prime Minister also met with Canadian and American business and artificial intelligence leaders. To strengthen Canadian leadership in technology, a multimillion-dollar agreement was signed between BlackBerry and the Malaysian government on the sidelines of Apec. BlackBerry’s world-class Canadian technology has been chosen to provide services and infrastructure that will help build Malaysia’s cybersecurity capability and ability to counter and embolden cyber-based threats.”
Trudeau also convened a roundtable of Canadian innovators, global technology leaders, food manufacturers and logistics providers, also in San Francisco, to discuss reducing food costs for consumers and increasing the resilience of the agricultural supply chain. The Prime Minister then met with California Governor Gavin Newsom to discuss shared priorities, including tackling climate change, growing strong economies and making life more affordable for the middle class.
“From artificial intelligence, to clean energy, to agriculture, the world is looking to Canada as a place to do business. When we ensure that our partners in Asia-Pacific can invest in Canada and that Canadian companies can do business in Asia-Pacific, we create middle-class jobs and grow sustainable economies. By working together, we build a stronger and healthier future for people on both sides of the Pacific,” commented Trudeau, who however did not have an official meeting with the main economic player in the Asia-Pacific, namely China, during the summit (just a quick and cold “hello” between him and the Chinese leader), whose relations with Canada are still terrible. Joe Biden, however, did not miss the opportunity offered by Apec and his long conversation with Xi Jinping and their handshake represent perhaps the only concrete result of the summit. Concrete for Americans.
