If anyone had any lingering doubts about the change in the world order, the sight of President Trump pumping his fist into the air at the doorway of Air Force One, before turning his back on Asia to fly home, they should be put to bed now.

A repost from 11 November 2026

On those steps, Trump symbolically turned his back on Asia, abandoning the APEC leader’s meeting and vacating the field to the new regional power: China.

Admittedly, Trump has shown little interest in APEC. He skipped the 2018 meeting in PNG, and both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama failed to attend one APEC summit each during their terms due to domestic political crises. The leaders’ meeting was a creation of Paul Keating. It was intended to keep the US engaged at the highest level in East Asia.

On this occasion, Trump travelled to Korea, where the summit was being held, to have a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping. He had his “12 out of 10” meeting with Xi and abruptly left. All other APEC leaders were there, except Russia’s. Apart from the Korean host’s massive loss of face, Trump’s message to the others was clear: only China matters.

While the details of their meeting are still sparse, the headline outcomes on tariffs, rare earths, fentanyl, soy beans, and so on have been raked over. But little has been said about the historical significance of what transpired.

Importantly, for the first time, China........

© Pearls and Irritations