DANANG, Vietnam (AP) — President Donald Trump is in Danang, Vietnam, for a second day of meetings with Asian economic leaders.
Trump told attendees at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit Friday that he won’t let the United States be “taken advantage of anymore” on trade, adding he’ll always “put America first.”
Trump says the United States “can no longer tolerate these chronic trade abuses.”
The president — who pulled the United States out of the Pacific Rim trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership — says the U.S. will no longer join “large agreements that tie our hands, surrender our sovereignty and make meaningful enforcement practically impossible.”
After the APEC meetings Saturday, Trump will travel to the capital, Hanoi, for a state banquet.
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2:09 a.m.
It may be an offbeat photo, but it’s no joke.
World leaders, including President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, donned matching silk button-down shirts at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit Friday in Vietnam. Since 1994, the summit included a “family photo” in local attire an annual display of cooperation among world leaders.
It was a departure for Trump, who’s rarely photographed in anything but a suit and tie or a golf shirt.
President Barack Obama tried to end the custom when he hosted the summit in Hawaii in 2012, when leaders wore suits, but that proved temporary. Previous APEC shirts have included ponchos in Peru, colorful batik shirts in Malaysia, and overcoats called durumaki in Korea.
U.S. news organizations weren’t given access to the event, unlike previous summits.
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9:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin have shaken hands at a summit in Vietnam.
The two leaders were spotted on video greeting one another ahead of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit gala dinner in the coastal city of Danang.
Trump and Putin were expected to hold a formal meeting on the sidelines of the summit. But as Trump was about to land on Friday, the White House announced no meeting would take place.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders blamed scheduling conflicts.
But Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said earlier this week that the pair would not meet unless they had something substantive to discuss.
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8:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump is attending a welcome event and gala dinner as part of a trade summit in Vietnam.
Trump arrived at a Danang hotel Friday evening for the events for world leaders and their spouses. The first lady had stayed in China and planned to return to Washington after touring the Great Wall.
Trump is attending annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam. It is one of several summits he is planning to attend during a five-country Asian tour. Formal talks are set to begin Saturday.
Earlier in the day Friday, Trump used a speech in Vietnam to denounce multilateral agreements embraced by the region and deliver what appeared to be a rebuke to China, railing against trade practices he says have put Americans out of work.
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4:10 p.m.
U.S. first lady Melania Trump toured China’s famed Great Wall at Mutianyu, two hours north of Beijing city center.
She rode a cable car to a watchtower, signed a guestbook and strolled along a stretch of the wall for about half an hour with a small group of aides and security officers.
Mrs. Trump received a scroll as a gift and chatted with her Chinese hosts before she departed.
The first lady stayed in China as President Donald Trump flew to Danang, Vietnam, to participate in a regional economic and security conference.
She planned to return to Washington after touring the Great Wall. The president tweeted that his wife will first stop in Alaska “to greet our AMAZING troops.”
Earlier Friday, she went to the Beijing zoo to check out the pandas.
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3:30 p.m.
Chinese President Xi Jinping says nations need to stay committed to economic openness or risk being “left behind.”
Xi made the remarks in a speech to a business conference in Danang, Vietnam, Friday. He spoke shortly after President Donald Trump told the same group that “we are not going to let the United States be taken advantage of anymore.”
The Chinese president urged support for the “multilateral trading regime” and progress toward a free-trade zone in the Asia-Pacific, drawing loud applause. He said that “self-seclusion leaves one behind.”
In his remarks, Trump reiterated his preference for country-to-country trade deals.
The leaders were speaking on the sidelines of the annual summit of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
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3 p.m.
President Donald Trump is signing a proclamation saluting the veterans of the Vietnam War.
Trump is in Danang, Vietnam, the site of an American air base that was used during the Vietnam War.
The president on Friday stood with seven veterans and praised their service. Some of the veterans spoke and praised Trump’s support of the military. One began to cry as he talked about fallen veterans and Trump hugged him.
Trump is in the midst of a lengthy Asia trip and is in Danang to attend an international summit.
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2:10 p.m.
President Donald Trump is continuing his tough talk against North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
Trump told an audience of CEOs at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Danang, Vietnam that the region’s future “must not be held hostage to a dictator’s twisted fantasies of violent conquest and nuclear blackmail.” He was referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump referenced his address in South Korea earlier this week when he called on countries to unite against North Korea. He said “every single step the North Korea regime takes toward more weapons is a step it takes into greater and greater danger.”
Trump also says civilized people must “come together” to drive out terrorists and extremists from our societies.
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2 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he won’t let the United States be “taken advantage of anymore” on trade and add that he’ll always “put America first.”
Trump is speaking Friday to a gathering of CEOs at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Danang, Vietnam. He says: “we can no longer tolerate these chronic trade abuses and we will not tolerate them.”
Trump says the U.S. will seek trade relationships that are rooted in the principles of fairness and reciprocity. He says the opposite has happened for “too long.”
Trump says the United States has lowered market barriers but “other countries didn’t open their markets to us.”
He adds: “Simply put we have not been treated fairly by the World Trade Organization.”
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1:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump says the whole world is being lifted by America’s economic renewal.
Trump is telling a gathering of CEOs at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Danang, Vietnam that a “new optimism” has swept across the United States since his election.
He’s reciting statistics about economic growth, low unemployment and stock market highs.
Trump says he’s had the pleasure of sharing the “good news from America” everywhere he’s been on his first official visit to Asia.
Says Trump: “The whole world is lifted by America’s renewal.”
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