The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit began Friday with world leaders meeting in the South Korean city of Gyeongju.

The summit, also known as APEC, is a forum to promote free trade and economic cooperation.

Taking center stage this year has been China's President Xi Jinping, who told leaders Friday that his country would help to defend global free trade.

He emphasized nations working together, maintaining supply chain stability, and expressed hopes for expanded cooperation in green technology and clean energy.

Xi met with leaders of Japan, Canada, and Thailand and is set to meet the South Korean leader Saturday.

U.S. President Donald Trump, on the other hand, has snubbed APEC.

He met with Xi yesterday on the sidelines of the summit where agreements on key trade and export issues are reached, but his no show at the main events, representing around 40% of the world's population has prompted discussions of a worsening of the U.S. reputation on the global stage.

AP video shot by Tian Macleod Ji