17 July 2021 Ardern chaired a virtual informal Apec leaders' retreat overnight, which included US president Joe Biden, China president Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Japan's newish PM Prime Yoshihide Suga. Xi sidestepped the retreat. In his place on the virtual retreat was Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The Chinese president stuck to the Apec script, emphasising for the member economies defeating Covid-19 and restoring growth at an early date are "our top priority" for the time being. Said Xi: "Since the start of the pandemic, Apec members have united as one and carried out active co-operation against the coronavirus.

Source: New Zealand Herald July 18, 2021 05:15 UTC