Chile cancels UN climate change conference and major trade summit amid ongoing protests

Two summits scheduled to take place in Chile, including one where President Trump aimed to sign phase one of a trade deal with China, have just been called off.

Chile announced Wednesday it will no longer host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the trade event that had been scheduled for mid-November and where Trump was set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, The Washington Post reports. Chile also called off the United Nations Conference of the Parties climate change summit it was set to host. This latter event was set to include more than 100 international delegations, the Post notes.

These cancellations were due to the ongoing demonstrations in the country sparked by a hike in public transportation fares, with a state of emergency having previously been declared in Santiago. Chilean President Sebastián Piñera said Wednesday, "This has been a very tough decision ... but it is based on the wise principle of common sense."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The APEC cancellation is especially significant because after Trump announced a "phase one" trade agreement with China, he said the two countries agreed "in principle" but that a "formal signing" would take place within the next few weeks, with the goal being for it to happen at the November conference in Chile. Earlier this week, Trump said the trade deal was coming along "ahead of schedule" and that "I imagine" they'll sign it in Chile. It's unclear when or where that will happen now; CNBC's Eunice Yoon observes this "could mean some relief for both sides" but also that China can "push off" the deal "especially if [Trump] doesn't agree to lift" the tariffs scheduled to take effect in December.