Good morning. Asia editor Nick Gordon succeeds Diane. I spent much of last week in the sleepy South Korean town of Gyeongju, which hosted world leaders and business tycoons as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Many on the scene were paying close attention to the “amazing” meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping near Busan, and the resulting new round of trade war truce.
“This seems to be a solid step forward,” Wang Yangbin, chief executive of Vobile, a Silicon Valley software company, told me, noting that “some pragmatic compromises can reduce conflicts on both sides.”
Investors may be disappointed by the lack of grand negotiations, but Trump will get another chance to move relations forward when he visits China in April. “The practice of statecraft is never a one-time thing,” Pradeep Philip, chief economist at Deloitte, told me. Here are some takeaways for leaders after a whirlwind week:
Multilateralism is not dead: Despite the rhetoric from Washington, APEC representatives were mildly optimistic about the future of trade. China wasn’t the only U.S. trade deal solidified last week: Trump signed deals with Japan, South Korea and several ASEAN countries.
Even if the United States does not trade with other governments, other countries will. Todd Hancock, executive chairman of Collinson Group Asia, said they are looking to diversify their economy. “You see a lot happening among ASEAN countries right now. The Koreans and Japanese are having deeper conversations than I’ve seen in past meetings.”
Energy is front and center: Energy, both renewable and non-renewable, has been the focus of APEC this year, including Trump shouting about “clean, beautiful coal” in his speech, thanks to artificial intelligence’s huge thirst for energy.
U.S. leaders may be all-in on fossil fuels, but the rest of the world is less sure. HD modern Vice Chairman Seok Cho laid out an “energy security” vision for a world transformed by artificial intelligence, focusing on renewable energy, critical minerals and digital transformation, during a panel discussion I moderated on Wednesday.
Cao is not alone. The Deloitte APEC CEO survey released during the meeting showed that nearly 60% of APEC leaders plan to increase investment in sustainable development this year, up from 29% last year.
South Korea is a force to watch: South Korea excels in strategic technology areas such as automobiles and semiconductors. One official gushed over coffee about Korean AI developers, like Neville and LG. It’s not just hardware; South Korea’s soft power is also a source of strength. BTS member RM said this his keynote speech on wednesday: “We adopt Korea’s unique aesthetics, concepts and production systems, but we don’t reject elements of Western music such as hip-hop, R&B or EDM. Just like bibimbap, these parts each retain their own unique identity but are mixed together to create something new, fresh and enjoyable.”
“You’re good at making storage technology,” NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang told Korean reporters on Friday. “The only thing you can make that’s likely to come close to being equally delicious is fried chicken.”
Fortune has two more conferences in Asia Pacific this year where we will bring together leaders from the region to discuss the most important issues facing businesses today: Wealth Innovation Forum in Kuala Lumpur on 17 and 18 November, and brainstorm design December 2 in Macau.
More news below.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady dianebrady@fortune.com
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CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Nick Gordon and Claire Zillman.