US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of their meeting at the Gimhae Air Base on October 30, 2025 in Busan, South Korea. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images

Leaders of Pacific countries and territories, including China’s Xi Jinping, are gathering in South Korea for a major summit Friday. But the leader of one global powerhouse is conspicuously absent: Donald Trump.

The US president flew out of South Korea Thursday, moments after his landmark meeting with his Chinese counterpart that appeared to de-escalate the protracted trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies.

With Trump choosing to skip the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation – which groups together countries accounting for more than half of global trade

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