Biden to stress APEC economic ties, as trade deal stumbles

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 16 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will highlight strong U.S. ties to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum economies on Thursday, despite a failure to make progress on key trade provisions sought by regional countries. Biden, who held a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, is due to address a summit of CEOs on Thursday before speaking to leaders from the 21-member APEC gathered in San Francisco for the organization’s annual summit. Biden will also take part in an event with the 14-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) that his administration established to bolster…