President Lee Jae Myung on Oct. 31 chairs the first session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting at Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

By Xu Aiying
Photos = Yonhap News

The world's eyes are on Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting.

Attending the gathering are heads of state and representatives from 21 APEC member states including the U.S., China, Japan and Canada. As the leader of the chair country, President Lee Jae Myung on the morning of Oct. 31 greeted his counterparts from abroad at the summit venue of Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping both came as state guests. Thus President Lee is Korea's first head of state to receive two such visitors in a city outside of Seoul.

President Trump missed the main summit, flying home after bilateral talks with his Korean and Chinese counterparts. President Xi, however, will attend the event and hold talks with President Lee in his first visit to Korea in 11 years.

A slew of foreign leaders visited Gyeongju including Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, in addition to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Oberchuk and Mexican Minister of Economy Marcelo Ebrard.

Though his country is not part of APEC, United Arab Emirates leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also arrived in Gyeongju, as did International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

This is an aerial view of Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center, the venue of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

In the first session on the morning of Oct. 31, the heads of state discussed cooperation to promote trade and investment under the theme "Towards a More Connected Resilient Region and Beyond."

The second on Nov. 1 will discuss creating new growth engines in the Asia-Pacific region amid new economic trends such as the emergence of artificial intelligence and demographic changes under the theme "Asia-Pacific Vision Prepared for Future Changes."

After the second session, President Lee will mark the conclusion of this year's summit by handing the APEC chairmanship to President Xi as China will host next year’s gathering.

xuaiy@korea.kr