PM Christopher Luxon maximises Apec meetings as he eyes Presidents Xi and Biden with ‘new energy’

• Christopher Luxon promises to maximise his time at the Apec summit in Peru, meeting world leaders.
• Luxon hopes for an informal talk with US President Joe Biden but no confirmed meeting yet.
• Luxon, mindful of the importance of sideline meetings, aims to strengthen relationships with key leaders.

The Prime Minister is promising he will “jam in as much as [he] can” into his whirlwind trip to Peru for his first Apec summit this weekend.

That includes some one-on-one time with some of the world’s most powerful people – including China’s President Xi Jinping.

And although a meeting with Joe Biden is yet to be confirmed, Christopher Luxon is hopeful he can pencil in an 11th-hour sideline talk with the outgoing United States President.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon meets President Joe Biden at the NATO Summit in Washington DC 11 July 2024. Picture supplied

“I expect I will be able to talk to President Biden – but that will be a more informal pull-aside,” he told the Herald before departure.

Luxon touches down in the Peruvian capital of Lima this morning – ahead of a “maximised” schedule over the coming days.

The return trip to Peru, which includes stopovers in Chile, is 38 hours. Luxon is on the ground for roughly a day and a half.

But the whirlwind nature of the trip does not faze Luxon – “I use my time very efficiently – that’s just how I roll,” he said.

“We want to jam in as much as we can and make [the days] as full as possible.

“A short trip maximises my time, keeping it as short as possible in terms of being able to get in and meet with a lot of leaders. I want these meetings to be productive; [as we’re] travelling on the taxpayers’ dime.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks to media ahead of the Treaty Principles Bill first reading. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Apec is a who’s who of world leaders, including Presidents Xi, Biden, Australia’s Anthony Albanese and Canada’s Justin Trudeau.

Although the Leader’s Retreat is seen as the summit’s main event, the “pull asides” and “bilats” are essential to smaller countries such as New Zealand, according to Antje Fiedler, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland.

“It’s important for us to maintain our soft power with larger countries – countries where our values are well aligned, or that see us as trustworthy partners. That can be done in these smaller, pull-aside meetings.”

Luxon has been able to secure several of these over the coming days, including with Xi – the pair are scheduled to sit down later this weekend.

“I’m trying to put some new energy into these relationships – to make sure we keep the ball moving forward and the momentum rolling.”

Luxon said he is highly mindful of the importance of these short, sideline meetings and what can be achieved through such leader-to-leader talks.

This is Luxon’s first Apec trip. Despite his keenness to attend last year’s summit, he was unable to go, because of the prolonged government coalition talks.

The culmination of part of those talks played out in Parliament yesterday afternoon as the controversial Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading.

National supported it, but Luxon has vowed his party will kill it at the second reading.

Luxon’s absence in the House as the bill passed was noted by members of the Opposition – some calling him out for being away from Parliament during this critical time.

Despite this, Luxon said his focus is squarely on delving tangible results for New Zealanders.

“Apec has been in the calendar all year – the reality is it’s just a function of the schedule of the legislation; this happens all the time.”