SANTIAGO--Chile withdrew on Wednesday as the host of an APEC summit next month at which the United States and China had been expected to sign a deal to ease a trade war that has hurt the global economy, as raging street protests gripped the South American country.
The abrupt move - which came after weeks of riots over inequality in Chile that have left at least 18 people dead - plunged the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting into disarray, with participating countries caught off-guard and no alternative venue lined up.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, fighting for his political survival, said he had taken the "painful" decision to cancel the summit, as well as the high-profile COP25 international gathering on climate change in December, to focus on restoring law and order and pushing through a new social plan. "As president to all Chileans I must always put the problems and interests of Chileans, their needs, their desires and their hopes, first," he said in a brief statement at the La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago.
The APEC summit was scheduled to bring together 20 world leaders on Nov. 16-17. U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had been due to sign an interim agreement to end the 15-month-old trade war.
The cancellation might deny the two leaders a chance to meet on neutral soil soon but the Trump administration said it still expects to sign the deal with China next month. A White House official told Reuters that Chile's cancellation of the trade summit had caught the administration by surprise.
Violent riots have left large parts of Santiago shut down, with the metro transport system suffering nearly $400 million in damage. A total 7,000 people have been arrested and Chilean businesses hit with losses of around $1.4 billion.
The Chilean government said on Wednesday that the final of the Copa Libertadores, the region's top soccer tournament, would still go ahead as planned at Santiago's national stadium on Nov. 23 between Argentina's River Plate and Brazilian club Flamengo.
The major United Nations COP25 climate summit had been due to take place in Chile between Dec. 2 and Dec. 13. That summit would have brought delegates from around 190 nations to talks aimed at thrashing out details of how to reduce global emissions to meet the Paris climate agreement.
Climate change teen activist Greta Thunberg, who was traveling across the Americas to the event, said on Twitter: "My thoughts are with the people of Chile," adding that she would now pause her voyage and await further information.
The U.N. is urgently seeking a new venue for the conference, but said it may need to be delayed.
