Coinciding with a demonstration that came in rejection of the "neoliberal" practices of the

 concerned governments and "solidarity" with the Palestinians in Gaza, a large number of

 flags and banners were raised calling for support for the Palestinians and an end to the

 Israeli "genocide"in Gaza, hundreds demonstrated in San Francisco on Sunday on the eve of

 the APEC summit.

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Edited by| Hugh Gey

 

World  section -  CJ journalist

 

San Francisco - November,13,2023

 

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Climate activist Nick ivasco said that "the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is

 a neoliberal colonial form of government. We want to make sure they put people and the

 planet at the heart of the negotiations,"he said.

"When countries meet to negotiate, they often cede resource and land rights to Northern

 companies,"ivasco added. "They are talking about building a green economy, but for the

 CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the biggest polluters in the world, to have a platform to discuss

 with world leaders how he wants to benefit from these free trade agreements is very

 worrying," said the activist of the "No to your father" coalition.

"I am here in solidarity with the Palestinians who are being massacred en masse . "My

 husband's family is stuck in Gaza right now. "This is a genocide, and we, the United States,

 are helping to finance it,"she added.

She considered that it makes sense to protest with anti - "APEC" activists, because the

 summit brings together international leaders, including President Joe Biden, who arrives in

 San Francisco on Tuesday. "The cause of the liberation of peoples is International, and all

 these issues are interrelated,"she added.

Delegations of the 21 member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC),

 including China, Japan and Indonesia, arrived in San Francisco, California, where the summit

 will be held from November 11 to 17, as well as Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei

 overchuk, representing Russia as a "full participant".

"Overchuk will be treated as the head of the delegation and will have the opportunity to

 fully participate in the events of the week," said Matt Murray, who is in charge of the APEC

 file at the US State Department, "it is clear that Russia's participation was affected by

 sanctions," Murray added, explaining that overchuk "will not be at the same level" from the

 point of view of diplomatic protocol as the heads of state and government who will

participate in the summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is facing an ICC arrest warrant, was not expected to

 head to San Francisco, and the United States made no secret that he was not welcome.

Among these leaders is another opponent of the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping,

 who will meet with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday. The United States expressed the

 hope of stabilizing relations with China and finding limited areas for cooperation.

At a time when tensions are at their peak and the United States is preparing for presidential

 elections a year later, the APEC summit represents a unique opportunity for the leaders of

the two countries to meet.

Biden and Xi are expected to discuss on Wednesday, in their first meeting since the group of

 twenty summit hosted by Bali a year ago, a number of differences including Taiwan, whose

 elections scheduled in two months could raise new tensions with Beijing, knowing that the

 latter considers the autonomous democratic island part of its territory and has not ruled out

 annexation by force.

A US official expressed hope that Biden and Xi will open "new lines of communication", given

 the US desire to resume contacts between the two militaries, which are especially necessary

 for managing the Taiwan crisis.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, the two leaders will

 "communicate in depth on strategic, general and confusing issues in the framework of

 China-US relations, as well as major issues related to global peace and development".

She added that Beijing opposes "defining China-US relations in terms of competition".